


Love me, if you can

by tfatf42



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Probably more characters in the future, bechloe - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-07
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-07-22 03:25:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 75,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7417735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tfatf42/pseuds/tfatf42
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chloe is a bubbly actress living in LA, where she meets Beca, a music producer who's never felt loved the right way. Will the redhead be able to get through her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! So this is my first story, just giving it a try. Not much happens in this chapter, but I hope you like it and I promise to give you longer updates. This is some sort of introduction. Criticism is always welcome. I'm not a native speaker, so I apologise for any mistakes.
> 
> I own nothing.

"Chloe, the limousine is here!"

Chloe sprinted down the stairs to meet her best friend, Aubrey, who was obviously annoyed by her lateness.

They were both sporting high heels and a dress, Chloe's was red, mid-thigh and close-fitting, Aubrey's was a baby blue long dress that gave her an elegant look

They were attending a private party for the cast and crew of the last film she starred in, and she was taking Aubrey as her plus one. As always, Aubrey was ready one hour before they had to leave and turned on her doorstep when the redhead had only just stepped out of the shower, hurrying her through all the process of getting ready.

They met in freshman year of college, and they immediately became best friends. When they graduated, Aubrey was offered a job in a reputed law firm in LA, and Chloe decided to move with her and pursue her dream of being an actress.

Now, five years later, Aubrey was one of the best lawyers in the country and Chloe was a well-known actress, but their friendship was still strong.

Even though they had decided to buy their own places, they lived in the same building, Aubrey on the third floor, Chloe on the fourth. They usually had dinner together and would have sleepovers more often than not. So, of course, Aubrey was Chloe's plus one on everything she had to attend, and vice versa.

They stepped out of the elevator and hurried to the limousine that was taking them to the club where the party was happening.

It took them about one hour to get there, with LA's traffic being crazy at that time, and when they stepped out of the vehicle they were surrounded by photographers and journalists asking several questions. Chloe took time to answer to some of them and then they made their way inside.

The club was big and well lit, with a dancefloor, a bar and some comfy looking couches on a corner, and there weren't too many people in there. She led them to the bar to get some drinks, saying hi to some people in the way.

The redhead was ordering when she heard someone say "Oh my, Beale and Posen, fancy seeing you here".

She turned around and was met with Stacie Conrad, an FX professional that could very well be a model with her long legs and toned body, but she was a total nerd at heart. They had already worked on a couple other films together and had formed a friendship. She was fun to hang out with and sometimes Stacie would join Chloe and Aubrey on their nights out.

"Hey Conrad", Chloe replied with a huge smile and enveloped her in a hug.

"Hey Stacie, haven't seen you in a while, how have you been?" Aubrey and the brunette started catching up with each other as Chloe retrieved their drinks from the bar tender and handed one to Aubrey.

"Girls, I'm gonna go say hi to some people, be right back". After a nod from her friends, Chloe went to say hello to the people she recognised and stayed to talk with Benji, the director, who was a really sweet and awkward guy.

After a while, she decided to go back to her friends, to find the bar empty except for a small brunette she had never seen before. She was wearing a nice green button up and black skinny jeans with matching high heels. Her brown hair cascading down her shoulders and almost make up free, except for some heavy eyeliner and mascara.

Chloe wondered who this girl was and what part she played in the making of the film, so she took a seat on the stool next to her, and after signalling the bar tender to make her another drink, she turned to the girl.

"Hi! I'm Chloe, nice to meet you", the actress said with a big smile.

The tiny girl turned to face her with her eyes furrowed in confusion, but then she smiled and offered her a hand to shake.

"Hey, I'm Beca, nice to meet you too"

"So what brings you here, Beca?" Chloe asked as she shook her hand.

"I like to sneak into Hollywood parties uninvited and do crazy stuff with celebrities, like sitting by myself by the bar while I watch everyone else have a life", she answered with a smirk.

"That's why I'm here too! Isn't that a happy coincidence" They both laughed as the bartender came back with Chloe's drink.

"Okay, so what do you do in this shit-show of a film?" Chloe raised her eyebrows in amusement.

"Well, I'm the lead actress of the shit-show, and you?"

"Damn, sorry, didn't mean to be offensive. Well, I make sure Benji eats all his veggies" Beca deadpanned and Chloe couldn't help but laugh. "On a side note, I composed the OST".

"Really? That's so cool, do you do that for a living? And don't worry, I wasn't offended"

"Oh, no, I'm a music producer, Benji asked me to score this one film, but it's the first one, and probably the last". She said with a smile and a shrug.

"And how do you know Benji, if you don't mind me asking?"

"We've been best friends since we were kids, along with Stace, who you probably know since she talks with absolutely everyone, and the three of us moved here after we graduated college and got incredibly lucky in our careers".

"Oh, I'm friends with Stacie, how come you have never come out with us?" The redhead asked, quite curious as to why she had never seen, nor heard of, the petite brunette.

"I don't like to go out much" The musician simply replied. "But tell me a bit about you, you've been asking questions non-stop, it's quite rude" She said with a playful smile and Chloe laughed".

They talked for about an hour more, Chloe liked talking to the brunette, she was funny and sarcastic and she gave a calm vibe, until they were interrupted by a quite tipsy blonde and brunette duo.

"Chloe! You've met Beca! That's sooo awesome"

"Hey, Baggins, ran out of beer in the Shire?" Aubrey said to Beca with a clearly inebriated smile, and Beca answered with a huff and a scowl.

"Aubrey! Oh my God! Stacie how the hell did you get her drunk?" Chloe said, incredibly embarrassed by her best friend's comment.

"I told her she was afraid of getting drunk" Stacie said with a mischievous smirk, and Chloe laughed. Posens were never afraid. "Becs, this is Aubrey, Chloe's best friend, these two are actually the two pretty ladies I sometimes go out with and you refuse to join every single time. Aubrey, this is Beca, my idiot best friend"

"Well, thanks for that, dear friend of mine" Beca replied sarcastically.

"Hey, why have you never come out with us if Stacie has invited you?" Chloe interrupted.

"Well, I'm not a people person, I don't like crowded spaces and I didn't know you two, so I'd probably be really awkward" Beca answered with a chuckle.

"You know them now, so you're going out with the three of us. Tomorrow night, actually, you haven't spent a Saturday night out in years"

"Yay!" Chloe clapped her hands excitedly and threw an arm over Beca's shoulders. "We're gonna have so much fun! We can even go to a quiet place to have drinks so you're comfortable"

"Yeah, no, I don't think so" Beca chuckled awkwardly, a little tense from the physical contact.

"Oh yes you are, I'll drag you out of your apartment if necessary" Stacie said in a serious tone "your hermit life-style has gone on for way too long, you're not getting out of this. Be ready tomorrow at 9PM sharp, no excuses".

"I fucking hate you" Beca scowled. "Okay, if I'm gonna do this, I'm going home right now. I'll see you tomorrow, ladies". And with that, she stood up and left without another word.

"Your friend is kind of a bitch" Aubrey bluntly said, and the other two laughed.

"She's nice enough when you get to know her. Did you like her, Chloe? She's pretty hot, isn't she?" Stacie asked while wiggling her eyebrows, which made the redhead laugh.

"I did like her, and yes, she's hot. I'm not sure she actually wants to go out with us though…" Chloe said, a bit worried that they were making her do something she wouldn't enjoy.

"Oh, don't worry, she never wants to go out, I'm working on it, don't take it personally. Let's enjoy the rest of our night then". The tall brunette said, dragging them both to the dancefloor.


	2. Chapter 2

Beca woke up at noon the next morning. She started mixing as soon as she got home from the party to clear her mind and stayed in front of her equipment until her eyes started hurting, around 9AM. She hadn't slept for more than 6 straight hours since she was a teenager, but she was okay with that.

She went to prepare coffee and while she waited for the machine to be done, she couldn't help but think about the redhead she had met the night before, and she scolded herself.

She always did this; it was absolutely ridiculous. As soon as a pretty girl took the time to talk to help her mind wandered to impossible romantic scenarios where she'd be in a happy, loving relationship.

She was no fool, she was completely aware that it was never gonna happen, but she couldn't really help herself, as much as she wanted to save herself from the slight pain she felt when it was made clear that those girls had no interest whatsoever in a relationship with her.

Beca often told herself that she didn't need a significant other, she had her friends and they were great, and she liked being alone, far away from the rest of the world, so no, Beca didn't need anyone.

She craved it though. The feeling of loving and being loved in return. She hadn't felt it since she was a four-year-old, when she was daddy's girl and she thought that her father would love her, no matter what.

That changed when his father left her with her mom to start a new life, in a new state, with his mistress. He had been cheating on her mother for a year, and one day he packed his bags and said he couldn't stay with them anymore, that she was in love and that he owed to himself to be happy.

Beca wanted his father to be happy. He was her favourite person in the whole world, so she said goodbye to him with a teary smile and watching him go, already looking forward to the next time he came back.

It never happened. He never came back and all she got from him was a couple of calls a year, on her birthday and Christmas, and later on, it changed to two postcards a year, to nothing at all.

She'd spend all her holidays and birthdays locked up in her room, crying, while her mother ignored her whole existence, like she did most of the time.

When she turned ten, she found the relieve she needed in music, and by the time she was fifteen, she could proficiently play guitar, ukulele, violin, cello, piano and sax. Then, she started mixing and the crying subsided, although she still had bad days.

Her mother was abusive. She never laid a hand on her, but she damaged her like nobody else. She would only notice her when she did something she didn't like. She made sure to let her know that nobody would want to be around her if she kept wearing black and so much eyeliner. That she looked like a troublemaker, and the only people that would want her close would be other troublemakers. She usually told her that she was too skinny, and that wasn't nice to look at.

Beca told herself that none of that was true. She knew it wasn't true. She kept her head low, she'd never get in trouble and was doing good in school. She didn't have many friends, but Stacie and Benji liked her, and they were good people, the best Beca had ever met.

But she didn't really believe that. She couldn't help but find some truth in her mother's words, but she couldn't bring herself to change, she didn't know how to.

Things went on like that until her senior year of high school. That was the year her joke of a father remembered he had a daughter, and when he found out that she was planning on pursuing a music career, he did everything in his power to deter her from it and make her attend the college he worked at.

She ended up agreeing because Stacie and Benji had decided to attend that same college, and that made those four years not so dreadful.

Her relationship with her father never got better though, he tried, but she was too angry at him and his attempts to rebuild their relationship only lasted for about six months. Then, he just paid for her accommodation in college and when he graduated, he gave her just enough money to survive in LA for three months and never heard from him again.

So she hadn't had any kind of relationship whatsoever in her whole life, apart from her two friends. She had acquaintances, she liked being around people and talking to them once in a while, and she felt good when she was able to help others, but she never allowed anyone to get to know her.

So that left her daydreaming of what could be but never will, and when she met Chloe, it was absolutely unavoidable. She was nice to her, she was fun and easy to talk to and she seemed genuinely interested in what Beca had to say. That's how she knew it was too good to be true and decided to forget about her before she could develop a crush.

She was hoping to never see the girl again after that night and save herself the heartache this time, but, of course, Stacie ruined that for her.

She knows her best friend meant well. She knows Stacie and Benji have been worried about her for years, and that they were trying their hardest to make her feel better. She just doesn't understand why Stacie had to put her foot down to make her go out precisely with Chloe and her not so nice blonde best friend.

As she picked up her freshly made cup of coffee and took a sip, she swore to herself that she was going to try her damn hardest to have fun today and make Stacie proud, even if it ends up hurting her.

And with that thought and some food, she entered her studio to mix until Stacie came to feed her dinner and make her get ready hours before she said she'd be in her apartment, like she always did. The tall brunette just knew her too well, and was aware that if she left Beca to her own devices, she'd forget everything but the beats in her computer screen.

/

At around 6:30, Stacie entered her studio and pulled her headphones off. She always did that. Both her and Benji had gotten a spare key one week after she moved in, since she couldn't be bothered to reach out to them when she was in the zone, and she never heard their knocking over the music playing in the headphones. To say they were furious would be an understatement. Well, Stacie was, Benji seemed kind of afraid himself of the fury pouring out of Stacie.

"Hey Becs, save whatever that is, we're ordering dinner, I want you in the living room in exactly two minutes". And with that, she left the room.

Beca sighed and did as she was told, while she mentally prepared herself for the rest of the evening.

They ordered pizza and Stacie rushed her to shower while the food didn't come. When she came out of the shower, Stacie was just saying goodbye to the delivery guy and they both took a seat in the sofa to eat.

"So, how did you like Chloe and Aubrey? And how are you feeling about meeting them today?"

There it was. She wasn't about to tell her she was afraid of developing a crush on Chloe. She never told anyone those things. As far as Stacie knew, her last crush was on sophomore year of high school.

"I'm not even going to make a comment on blondie. I'm really just hoping she was only mean because she was drunk. I did like Chloe though, she is nice to talk to".

"And hot too. She's totally your type" Stacie said with a smirk and Beca blushed a deep shade of red.

"Please don't say those things to me while we are with them… And yeah, she is very pretty" The producer said with an embarrassed smile and her head low, and Stacie couldn't help but smile at her adorable best friend.

"Don't worry Becs, you know I'd never embarrass you in public. But you didn't answer my second question. How are you feeling about tonight? I know I said you were coming, like it or not, but if you are really dreading it you don't have to" Beca looked at her and smiled. It was when Stacie said things like that, that she remembered why exactly she was her best friends. She and Benji had always been nothing short of understanding and accepting towards Beca, and they all loved each other to death.

"No, it's okay. I was dreading it, but you know, you're right, I need to start going out more, and you'll be there, so I'll be okay" She said with a smile, which Stacie returned with a beam and a tight hug. Beca returned the hug, happy to make her friend happy.

"So, where's Benji? Why isn't he coming?"

"Date night with Emily. I swear to God, they are the cutest together"

"She's a nice one, I really like her" Beca said with a soft smile. She was really happy Benji had found someone like Emily. "So, when are you going to settle? I'm sure they'd love to do double dates" She teased, already knowing the answer.

"The Hunter is against settling, and you know how it is, what the Hunter wants, the Hunter gets" She said in a serious tone, and Beca couldn't help but openly laugh at her ridiculous best friend. "Okay, little lady, let's get you ready, it's almost eight" Stacie said while picking up the leftovers. "Get dressed, I'll be there in a minute to help you do your hair and make-up".

She went to her room and she picked her favourite flannel shirt, her usual skinny jeans and black Chuck's and got dressed before Stacie came in to help her finish getting ready.

At 8:30 they were on their way to the pub Chloe had picked to stay the night. The traffic was bad and they got there fifteen minutes late.

/

"They're late, Stacie is never late, it must be the midget. I really don't understand why Stacie is friends with her. She's too alternative for her own good and she seemed everything but nice". Aubrey ranted, while Chloe let out an exasperated sigh.

"Really Aubrey? Because you were drunk and you insulted her as soon as you saw her, you didn't even give her the chance to be nice. I hope you apologise for your behavior as soon as you see her, no excuses. She is really nice, and funny, and easy to talk to, and she has the prettiest blue eyes and smile, an-"

"Chloe, what the hell! You like her! You barely know her, are you kidding?" Aubrey said in a loud tone with wide eyes.

"Of course I like her, there's nothing not to like. She's just a little closed off. Now shut up, there they are" Chloe said while waving the two girls over. "Hey guys! Did you find the place okay?".

The pub with quiet and there weren't many patrons. They had a wide variety of beers, which Beca got excited about as soon as she saw them. The girls were seated on a table in a corner with two pints already in front of them.

"Hey girls! Yeah, we just got stuck in traffic in the cab, sorry to keep you waiting" Stacie answered before looking at Beca. "Go get your beer Becs, I know you're not leaving this pub until you try them all, you might as well get started. And get me whatever you're getting".

Beca answered with a nod and a bright smile, and she went to the bar after saying hi to the other two girls while Stacie took a seat.

She gave her order to the bartender and turned to look around, and her eyes stayed in Chloe, who was laughing at something Stacie said, and she couldn't help but smile. She shook her head to break out of her trance and redirected her attention to the bartender, who was putting the two pints in front of her. She took them and went over to their table. She took her seat, next to Chloe and in front of Stacie, and handed one of the glasses to the leggy brunette, who gave her a smile.

"So, Beca" Aubrey said, and Beca took a big gulp of beer, preparing herself for what was coming. "I'm really sorry about yesterday, I was a bit tipsy and I was offensive to you".

Beca could only smile in relieve, so glad she had misjudged the girl. "Don't worry, it was an innocent comment, also kinda funny. I did think you were just being mean, but I'm glad you weren't". Aubrey gave her an honest smile in response, and Chloe and Stacie were beaming, both glad their best friends were getting alone.

They all talked for a while until Stacie demanded Aubrey went with her to the bathroom. Beca saw right through this and she was sure she was blushing. God, so ridiculous.

"So…" She heard Chloe said, and turned to look at her, getting lost in her bright blue eyes. "What have you been up to?"

"You mean in the 24 hours since we last saw each other?" She teasingly asked. "Nothing, you know, just mixing".

"Ohhh, tell me, whatcha working on?" Chloe said excitedly while clapping her hands. Beca beamed at the excitement and interest. The redhead was just too cute for words.

She started telling her about her latest mix, and how she was stuck in a transition, but so proud that she got to match the beats, which was tricky with those songs. Chloe sometimes interrupted to make questions, and brunette loved the genuine interest that the actress seemed to have. Then Chloe told her about her latest project and upcoming auditions, and they were so entertained with each other, that they missed their two friends coming back and the knowing smiles they were giving them.

They left the pub several hours later. Beca had indeed insisted in trying all the beers they had on tap, but she could only get halfway through the list until she got drunk and Stacie stopped her, promising to come back soon to finish what they started.

Chloe jumped in the occasion and suggested they all come back next Saturday. Beca tried to tell them they didn't have to, that they could go to a club or wherever they usually go, but Chloe insisted she preferred this plan so she finally agreed.

When they parted ways, Beca exchanged numbers with Chloe and the redhead promised to text her to meet her for coffee sometime next week before going into different cabs.

/

Stacie and Beca both went to Beca's apartment and got ready for bed. The tall brunette usually stayed the night. The music producer would never say it out loud, but she loved being held while she slept, and Stacie was happy to do that for her.

When they were both snuggled under the covers, with Beca laying her head in Stacie's chest and Stacie's arms around the DJ's frame, the FX tech said in a teasing tone "So, you're going on a coffee date with Chloe, huh?" Beca let out a sad chuckle.

"Yeah right, in my dreams" She'd never say something like that if sober, but she wasn't thinking straight at the moment. "She's way out of my league, we're just going as friends, if she actually texts me, which I'm not so sure about".

"Come on Becs, Chloe likes you, didn't you see the way she was looking at you? Well, of course you didn't, but I'm telling you, she likes you".

"Well… if that's the case, it's just a matter of time until she stops liking me, so…" She said sleepily, and Stacie knew it was a lost battle, so she just stroked her hair until she heard her breathing evening out and then she fell asleep herself.

/

Chloe and Aubrey arrived at their building and the redhead went into Aubrey's apartment so they could talk for a while.

"So, do you like Beca better now?" Chloe asked, genuinely worried that her friend might not like the brunette.

"Yeah, I do like her better, you were right, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. But I believe I don't like her half as much as you do" She teased. The redhead was so transparent.

"I know… It's so weird, I barely know her, but I am properly crushing on her. I'm like a schoolgirl. Do you think she likes me? God, I hope she does…". Chloe, too, was a bit tipsy. She would have told Aubrey anyway, but she might have tried to deny it for a while.

"Really? Of course she likes you, she was looking at you like you were some kind of wonder all night. I was about to throw up at some point with the lovesick puppy eyes she was giving you". Chloe beamed like Christmas had come early, but quickly changed it to a smirk.

"You know, you really shouldn't joke about throwing up, I wouldn't be surprised if it actually happened"

"Get out of my apartment, you fucking bitch!" Aubrey told her while trying to hold back her laugh.

"All right, honey. I'm going to bed. Good night!" Chloe said as she walked towards the door.

"Good night, Chlo".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have no idea how pubs in the USA work, or anything for that matter, appart from what I see on the telly and films, so this might seem a little far fetched, or not, dunno, whatever. Thank you very much for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Chloe Beale: _Hey! I'm free tomorrow for that coffee. How's your schedule?_

Becs :) : _I have to be at the studio all morning recording with an artist, but I'm free in the afternoon if that works for you_

Chloe Beale: _Of course, I can meet you in a coffee shop near your workplace. What record label do you work for, by the way?_

Becs :) : _Um… Atlantic Records, do you know it? There's a coffee shop right in front of the building, if that works for you_

Chloe Beale: _WHAT THE HELL?! How did you not tell me you work for Atlantic Records? We are so talking about this. Also, yes, everybody knows it, and yes, it works for me. Meet you there at 4?_

Becs :) : _Heh… never came up I guess. All right see you tomorrow_

"Oh my God" Chloe said as she got up from the couch and darted through the door to her best friend's apartment. She opened the door without knocking and yelled. "AUBREY! Where the hell are you?"

"Jesus Chloe, what's your problem?" Aubrey replied in a confused tone as she came out of the bathroom.

"Who the hell is Beca? I mean, I know, Stacie's friend, but is she like, famous? I thought she was a music producer for a small label, but she works for Atlantic effin' Records! She has to be damn good!" The redhead was frantic trying to figure it out. Beca could have produced some of her favourite songs and she hadn't even bothered to ask her about her work. She had never seen her face before though, that's for sure, so maybe she was just starting?

"Really? Wow. But why are you freaking out? You are famous too"

"She's a musician, Bree! That's just sexy, per se, and if she is that good, how am I supposed to keep it in my pants? Also, people must be throwing themselves at her. How am I supposed to get her to like me?"

"Ooookay, crazy. First, I had never seen her before, she can't be a public figure, so no people throwing themselves at her. And even if there were, haven't you met her? That girl couldn't flirt to save her life, and she's so oblivious she didn't even notice you doing it, and let me tell you, you are everything but subtle". She said with a snicker and Chloe glared at her. "Second, you are not that shallow, give yourself some credit, as soon as you see her you're going to be your bubbly, charming self. And last, but not least, she already likes you, you don't have to make her, how many times do I have to tell you?"

"Right… you're right… it's gonna be fine. I don't know why I freaked. I mean I do, I was already nervous about this. I just can't believe I haven't asked her about her work. I mean, we talked about a mix she was working on, but it seemed it was more of a personal project… I don't know. Okay, whatever, I'm calm. I'll ask her about it. Be cool. I can handle this. And even if I freak out, I'm Chloe Beale, I'm an actress for Christ's sake. I can pretend and she never has to know that I'm a pathetic fangirl" The redhead rambled, she wasn't even talking to Aubrey, she was just thinking out loud. What the hell. This is getting out of hand, and Aubrey thought so too.

"You really need to calm down. Do you need me to make you some warm milk and tuck you into bed? You sound like an excitable kid the day before their first day of school. You are gonna be fine" Aubrey said teasingly, but it seemed to calm Chloe down a little.

"Okay, can we do something tonight though? I might start biting my nails again if I'm left alone".

"Sure, order some Chinese, we can watch some films. I'll get some wine, you really look like you could use it tonight". Aubrey said with a smile before patting the actress' head and going into the kitchen.

"Yay! You're the best Bree!"

/

**Monday, 6:48 PM**

Mitchy: _Hey Stace! Can you come over? I need to talk to you about something._

Stace: _On my way!_

**Monday, 6:49 PM**

Lil' Bec: _Hey, you free right now? I need advice_

Benji: _Sure, can Emily come too? We're getting coffee_

Lil' Bec: _No problem. Get one for me if you're still, there, please_

Beca sighed and waited for her friends to come by. She didn't know what she was doing. She was a private person, and she might have already said too much.

Fifteen minutes later, she heard her front door open and close and Stacie entered the living room.

"What's up little one? You seem preoccupied"

"I'm not fucking little, you're abnormally tall, I've told you a thousand times. And wait for Benji and Em, they're on their way". Beca said grumpily.

As she was saying this, the door opened again and she suddenly felt a body against hers.

"Beca! I haven't seen you in forever! I missed you!" Emily said as enthusiastic as always. They had met in college when Beca heard her sing and offered to produce a song with her. They got along great and when she introduced her to Benji and they started dating, she became a member of the family.

"Hey Em, it has been a long time, I thought you'd be at the party on Friday, but Benji told me you had to get up early on Saturday. Are they treating you well at the label?" The producer asked, genuinely worried. Emily had recently signed for Atlantic too, but she had decided to work with another producer for her debut album, since she had never worked with anyone but Beca.

"Yeah, don't worry, I'm great and Amy is great. Extremely weird, but she's nice. I should come up to your studio more often, I haven't had the time but now I'm a little more fr-"

"Okay! That's enough, tell us what's wrong already, the anticipation is killing me here" Stacie interrupted, knowing that if she let Emily go on she might never finish.

"Wait, first, here's your coffee, just how you like it, as black as your soul" Benji spoke up for the first time since they got there and offered her the coffee with a smile.

"So funny, nerd. Thank you. Okay, so, I'm meeting Chloe tomorrow for coffee"

"Yes! Is it a date? It's totally a date!"

"Good for you! Chloe is really nice, it was lovely working with her. I was going to introduce you two at the party, but I saw that wasn't needed anymore" Benji said with a smirk.

"Okay, calm your tits, it's not a fucking date, I've told you. We're just meeting for coffee as friends"

"Right, so what exactly do you want to talk about?" Stacie asked, a bit confused.

"Okay, right, so… She asked me what label do I work for, so we could meet on a coffee shop nearby, and, you know, I told her. I didn't think much of it… But she kinda freaked, well, I don't know if she freaked, but she texted me with capital letters, that means something, right? Whatever, she also said that we're talking about that. The thing is, should I tell her who I am? Cause I'm not exactly opposed, she seems trustworthy and if we're going to hang out with her more, she's going to find out sooner or later… But nobody knows except for the three of you and the people I work with, and I can't exactly make her sign a confidentiality contract, can I? Okay, I'm rambling, please stop me now" Beca rushed out.

"Okay… I think that's the most I've heard you speak. I believe you should tell her. I know Chloe, she won't tell anyone if you don't want her to, and she's famous, she knows what it's like, so she's bound to understand why you wouldn't want to be a public figure. What do you think Benji?"

"Yeah… I do think you can tell her…" He said with uncertainty lacing his voice, which didn't go unnoticed by Beca.

"But…?" She asked warily

"But… privacy is really important for you… You seem to like her, and you know what happens when you are around a celebrity… You might not reveal your real identity, but the paps are bound to get pictures of you and you might get famous for being Chloe's girlfriend… or friend… you know how these things are…" Benji said, wary of his best friend's reaction.

"Fuck. How did I not think about this? Dammit… Is she that famous though? I mean, I didn't know her, and I know that's not weird, since I don't like films… But I'm obviously not gonna become her girlfriend, are they going to want pictures of Chloe hanging out with a friend?" Beca asked worriedly, and Stacie sighed at her best friend's denial of the possible relationship.

"You're so stubborn Becs… No, you're right, they probably won't care about you as long as you're both friends, so you should just tell her. But you know you like the girl, and Chloe likes you too, so stop denying it". Stacie firmly said and Beca just shook her head and glared at her.

"Guys… I don't think you're helping her…" Everybody turned to look at Emily, who was smiling sheepishly. "Look Beca, I've met Chloe twice, and she's one of the nicest people in the world. You can tell her who you are without any problem. Maybe you should just focus on that for now. But you do like her, if you didn't you wouldn't even think about telling her your secret. And you deserve to be happy too, and don't even try to tell me you're happy now, we know you crave a significant other. I know you don't like to hear this, and you don't have to agree, but don't deny it" She looked intently at Beca, waiting for her to say something, but she smiled when the musician stayed quiet. They had never gotten so far with her. "Okay, so, what I'm saying is that you don't need to worry about the press for now, but you should start thinking about it, okay?"

Beca just closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her friends lived in another fucking world. "Okay, I'll tell her tomorrow. About the other thing, I'd like for you to drop the subject, because it's annoying, but I feel like I should remind you that it doesn't matter if I like her or not, I mean, you do know I can't exactly force someone to be my girlfriend" Stacie opened her mouth to protest, but Beca held up her hand to shut her. "No, drop the subject. We're done. Do you want to stay for dinner?" She said as she got up to get the delivery food menus.

They all stayed until late to keep the little brunette company and they parted at around midnight with a hug, and wished her luck with Chloe.

Beca dropped in her bed and sighed, before getting up to get ready for bed. This was going to be hard, and her friends weren't helping to save her the heartbreak.

/

The day passed quickly and before she knew it, it was 3:30 and she hadn't had lunch. She pressed a button to talk to the person in the recording booth.

"Hey Ed, that was great, I think we're done for today, come out here". Ed Sheeran gave her a thumbs up and a smile as he removed his headphones and exited the booth.

"That sounded great Beca! You're a champions. I think I'm going to have you produce all my albums" He said as he enveloped her in a hug.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get ahead of yourself" She answered with a pat in his arm and a chuckle. "I'll try and finish those two songs tonight and I'll show them to you tomorrow okay? You can go now, we've been hole up in here all day and you must be starving. I know I am…"

"Okay, don't work yourself too hard, we're ahead of schedule thanks to you being a workaholic. I'll see you tomorrow Beca. Bye!"

She waved at him and turned to pick up her stuff. Fifteen minutes later, she was in the coffee shop already, with a piece of cheesecake in front of her to calm her hunger until later and her usual black coffee. She texted Chloe to let her know she was already there and she put her attention in the food before her.

Not five minutes have gone by before she saw the redhead taking a seat before her. "Hi you! You hungry?" Chloe asked with a huge smile.

"Hey" Beca tried to speak with her mouth full, which started a coughing fit. The redhead laughed and patted her back until it subsided. "Okay, that was smooth. Yeah, sorry, I forgot to eat lunch and I was starving, so I figured I'd have something while you didn't get here. Do you want some?" The brunette offered.

"Oh, no, thanks, I'm going to get a coffee, I'll be right back" She gave her a smile before standing up and going to the counter to place her order. When she came back, she looked at Beca with a frown. "We're going to a diner after this by the way. How old are you? You need to feed yourself"

"Don't tell me what I have to do, woman" Beca said teasingly. "But okay, if you really want to, I wouldn't say no to food, but don't feel obliged"

"Oh, don't worry, I'd love to have dinner with you" The redhead answered with a wink that almost made Beca cough again. "So, I think you have some things to tell me" Chloe said, and Beca knew this was coming, she just didn't expect her to be so forward.

"Oh, yeah, um… yeah" Beca said lowering her gaze with a nervous chuckle before looking around to make sure nobody could eavesdrop. "So, about that… I'm about to tell you a huge secret, I need you to swear you won't tell anyone. I mean, I guess you can tell Aubrey if you are absolutely sure that she can keep a secret. Can you do that?" The brunette said softly, with a pleading look in her eyes that made Chloe melt.

"Of course Beca, I know we don't know each other that well, but you can trust me" Chloe answered with a soft smile and a sincere look in her eyes, as she grabbed Beca's hand on the table.

Beca felt her heart jump at the physical contact. She wasn't used to it at all, but she welcomed it. She knew she was getting in deep shit, but she decided to at least enjoy it while it lasts. Make the heartbreak worth it.

"Okay so… I work for Atlantic Records as a producer, but I don't use my name and there are no public pictures of me, so nobody really knows… Okay so… Are you familiar with the name DJ BMitch?" She saw Chloe's eyes widen in recognition. "Yeah, that would be me…" she finished sheepishly.

"You… wha-… you're… Oh my God" Her mouth was hanging open. This couldn't be happening. Chloe didn't know what she was expecting, but definitely not this. She forced herself not to scream in excitement. "Okay, oh my God! You're my favourite artist? What? This is crazy. Oooooooh my God. Would it be weird if I asked you for your autograph? Yeah, that would be weird. Oh dear. Ho- How am I supposed to act normally around you now? You're a musical genius! Do you even know how good you are? How are you so nonchalant about this?" Beca couldn't help but laugh at the redhead.

"Okay, calm down. I'm not a musical genius. I just can make music, I'm okay, I guess, I've been pretty lucky…"

"You're okay you guess? What? Have you not just heard me say you are my favourite artist. I can't believe I didn't realise it. Okay. I'm going to calm down now so we can have a normal conversation" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened, she stared intently at Beca and the brunette thought her heart was going to stop. She could look into those beautiful bright blue eyes forever. "Okay, now you need to tell me, who were you working with today?"

"Ed Sheeran" and before she could say anything else the redhead squealed loudly.

"He's almost as talented as you! I can't wait to hear what you two create. Wow. If I liked you before, I don't know what to do with myself now". Both of them looked at each other with wide eyes when they realised that the redhead had said. "I… uh… okay, I'm not going to deny it, it's probably useless by now. I really like you, so, would you maybe want to make dinner later a date?"

"Um… Chloe… I… Look, I like you too, but I really don't think you know what you're saying… You know, you don't know me that well, and I can assure you, you're going to regret this. I'm not that great, really… Um… Can we just… Go to dinner as friends? Or not, I mean, if you don't want to do this anymore I understand, I know this is weird… I'm really sorry I'm just… fuck, sorry…" Beca felt her heart break a bit more with every word she spoke, and the hurt look in Chloe's eyes didn't make it any better, so she just shut up and looked down, waiting for Chloe to get up and leave.

"Okay" Beca looked up surprised she was even talking to her. "It's not ideal, but okay, we'll go as friends. But just so you know it, you don't get to tell me you like me and shut me out. I'm going to get to know you, and I'm going to convince you to go on a date with me, because I think you're great" The redhead said with a smile that Beca couldn't help but mirror.

The brunette felt her insides go warm although she didn't want them too. She knew this wasn't going to las, and she knew she was going to end up hurt, but she would do her best not to hurt Chloe too.

And this was good. This made Stacie and Benji happy because she was finally making friends with someone else. And Chloe made her happy, because Chloe was a bundle of joy and sunshine, and it was contagious.

So yeah, she knew she wasn't made to be loved that way. But she could enjoy this, whatever this was.


	4. Chapter 4

They had finished dinner, but it was still 7. The had talked about everything that came to their minds and they both had a really great time just enjoying each other's company. Beca didn't want to part ways yet, but she couldn't think of anything to keep the redhead by her side. Just as she was about to give up and say goodbye, Chloe turned to her, biting her lip and with an apprehensive look in her face. The brunette thought she looked cute, but it was weird seeing the normally confident redhead look so nervous, and she wasn't sure she liked it.

"So… I was thinking, if you have nothing to do, would you like to hang out a bit more? We could go to my place and watch a movie, or anything else really, whatever you want"

And Beca knew she had to say no. She had told Ed she was going to finish the songs, but how could she? The redhead was clearly nervous about asking her that, there was no way she was rejecting her. Besides, she really, really wanted to hang out with her, so she did what any responsible adult would do.

"Sure, of course, I don't have work to do, like, nothing at all. Yeah, I'm completely free right now" _Bravo, Mitchell, that was believable_ "Okay, so, yeah, whatever you want to do. We can even go to my place if you prefer"

"Really?" The redhead's whole expression lit up. "That would be so cool! Do you have a home studio? Can you show me?" Beca chuckled in response.

"Yes, Beale, of course I have a home studio. Come on, I'll show you.

/

They arrived to Beca's apartment 20 minutes later. It was nice, it had really big windows in the living room and a small couch in front of a television. Beca led her through the hallway to a closed room, and when she opened it, Chloe's mouth hung open.

"Beca… Can you play all those instruments?" Apart from her mixing equipment on a desk, there was a white grand piano on a corner, next to an electric and an acoustic guitar. On the other side of the room the was a beautiful black cello, and on a shelf above it laid a sax, a trumpet and a clarinet. Hanging on the walls were a violin, a banjo, an ukulele and several different kinds of tambourines, and laying on a chair there were… bagpipes? That's unexpected.

"Um… yeah, I like to play all the layers on my songs, I'm not very good at most of them, just… good enough to make it work" The brunette answered looking sheepishly at the floor.

"The bagpipes though? I don't think I've ever heard those in any of your songs. How did you even get into it?" Chloe asked, looking around in amazement.

"Oh, Celtic music is so beautiful. I wouldn't even dare to try and make that kind of music. It's just… too beautiful. And the bagpipes, they're just… I don't know how to explain it. They're annoying to most people, but the sound they make it's… I don't know, no other instrument can make me feel like that. It's so expressive. When you're playing a sad song, you can hear the heartbreak, and when it's a happy song, there's just nothing cheerier. To me at least… It might sound stupid to everybody else".

Chloe looked at her, completely lost in the girl. She was so passionate about music, she breathes and lives it. She could just sit and hear her talk about music all day. She seemed lighter, a smile stretched her face and her eyes looked brighter, and Chloe couldn't get enough of it. It was contagious, it made her feel happy too.

"Play them for me?" Beca looked at her for a long minute, like she was deciding whether to do it or not.

"Okay… Take a seat…"

The brunette went to the chair where she had left the bagpipes and arranged them around her frame. She filled the bag with air and then she started playing. The notes that came out of the instrument were beautiful, but so, so sad. She could feel what Beca had described, and she felt her own heart breaking as she felt Beca's pain coming out of the bagpipes.

When she finished, the redhead got up and enveloped in a hug that the brunette eagerly returned.

"That was so beautiful, Beca" She whispered. "But enough sad songs for today. Can I watch you work for a while? I know you have work to do, you didn't fool anyone". The redhead teased and Beca blushed.

"Yeah, I mean, I can not do it… I just have to add some touches to some of Ed's songs, but he did say that we weren't on a hurry and not to work myself too hard so…" She said with a shrug. "Which reminds me, I'm going to text him real quick to let him know I'm definitely not finishing his songs for tomorrow, give me a sec" She said pulling out her phone. "Okay, done. But yeah… you can see me work, although it's gonna be boring, it's just me in front of a computer. Are you sure you don't want to do something else?"

"Yeah, I'm sure, I'll let you know when I'm bored" The redhead answered with a smile, getting comfortable in her chair.

Just as Beca's computer was booting up, her phone chimed and she looked to see that Ed had answered her text.

Ginger Ed: _Yes! Did you finally get a life? We're both skipping tomorrow. No work! We need to celebrate you FINALLY overcoming your addiction to work. See ya on Thursday!_

"Lazy, ginger bastard…" Beca muttered to herself.

"What?" Chloe asked, holding back a laugh

"Nothing, that was fucking Ed Sheeran, letting me know he's cutting work tomorrow. You just can't trust those soulless gingers" Beca said with a smirk towards Chloe.

"Wow, you'd wound me if I believed you. Ed Sheeran is the living proof that gingers do have souls. Besides, you like me" She said in a sing-song voice that last part, and Beca rolled her eyes at her.

"Whatever you say, Beale. Let me work"

Chloe watched Beca work for an hour before getting bored. It was really cute, the way she bit her lip and furrowed her brow in concentration, how her fingers never stopped moving over her board, or tapping a rhythm on the desk, and how she looked closer at the screen when she couldn't figure something out. But she ended up craving actually talking to her, so she stood up and pulled her headphones from her head.

"What do you think you're doing? If you were anyone else, you'd be dead by know. You do not touch my headphones!" Chloe beamed at this.

"Am I that special already? Aww Becs"

"Shut up" The brunette blushed. She needed to be more careful with what she said. "Okay, so I assume you're bored. What do you want to do?"

"I don't know, movie?" the brunette scrunched her face in disgust.

"I don't really like movies… Sorry, I know that's what you do for a living. But they're just so predictable… That's probably putting you off, I know it's weird, sorry…" She said, looking down.

"Don't be sorry! That's okay, but I'll show you some movies that are not predictable, you'll see. But for now… how about TV series?" she offered with a smile.

"Yeah, that works, I actually like them. What do you want to watch?"

"Oh, I know, why don't we start one none of us have seen? That way we can watch the whole thing together"

"Sure. Have you watched Mr. Robot? I heard it's good, but I haven't started it yet. It's about a hacker or some shit, we can leave it if it's not any good".

"Okay, that works, let's go!" She said standing up.

/

"This show's awesome, I can't believe I waited for so long" Beca said as she loaded the third chapter.

"It is, we're doomed, I don't think I'll be able to stop watching now"

They were cuddling in Beca's couch. She'd been surprised when Beca didn't move away when she wrapped her arms around her, and she had to say, the brunette was a damn good cuddler. Her tiny frame felt so good against her.

"I know, if we're watching this together, you're not leaving until we're done with the first season"

Chloe couldn't complain, so she just smiled and pulled the brunette closer to her.

/

Beca woke up hours later. They'd fallen asleep sometime during the fifth chapter, which was weird, Beca never just fell asleep, she had to try hard and put an effort to get there. She turned to wake Chloe up to get her to bed.

"Hey, wakey wakey" She said, shaking the ginger softly. "We fell asleep, it's really late, go sleep in my bed, I'll take the couch"

"Oh no you won't, you're coming to bed with me and we're cuddling. Lead the way, I don't know where your bedroom is" the redhead said, getting up and grabbing Beca's hand, her mind still a bit foggy with sleep.

"Okay…" The brunette couldn't say no, she loved cuddling, although she'd never admit it. Badasses don't cuddle. But Chloe was so warm and she felt so good.

They got to her bedroom and Beca threw a sleeping shirt and some shorts at Chloe. "Here, you can sleep in those, I'm gonna use the bathroom, unless you want to go first" The redhead shook her head before taking her top off and the brunette blushed and looked at the ceiling. "Jesus… okay, right be right back." She said as she rushed out the room with her own sleeping clothes.

Fifteen minutes later, they were both in bed. Chloe had her head in Beca's chest and an arm over her stomach, and Beca had both her arms around her, holding her tightly.

"I didn't expect you to be a cuddler, you know? You're really really different to what I thought, but in a very, very good way" Chloe said as she stroked the brunette's abdomen lightly, and Beca sighed in contentment.

"Not everything is what it seems. But you can't tell anyone, if you do, I'll deny it and call you a filthy liar". The ginger chuckled at this and buried her head in the crook of Beca's neck.

"Your secret's safe with me. Now got to sleep. Good night Bec".

"Good night Chlo" The brunette replied, closing her eyes and letting her breathing match the one coming from the ginger in her arms as they both drifted to a peaceful slumber.

/

Chloe woke up the next morning to an empty bed and no trace of Beca in the bedroom. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and got up to find her friend.

She found her in the kitchen, in front of the stove, with that cute look of concentration on her face.

"Morning DJ" Beca jumped, which made the pan she was holding to go flying and the contents to spill everywhere, including Beca's arms.

"Motherfucker! Don't scare me like that. Ouch. This hurts like a bitch. Shit" She said waving her arms that she had probably burned.

"I'm so sorry Bec! I didn't know you'd react like that. Here, let me help you" She took her arms and put them under the cold water in the sink. "How did that even happen?"

"I don't know, shit like that happens all the time. I don't know if I have some kind of curse of if I'm just clumsy as fuck. Probably both combined". Chloe chucked and shook her head

"Do you have a first aid kit?"

"Yeah, in the bathroom"

"Okay, go there, I'll be with you in a minute, I'm just gonna turn off the stove so we don't burn the whole house" The redhead said as she turned off the water.

When she got to the bathroom, she found Beca sitting crossed legged in the toilet and humming under her breath. She looked like a child and Chloe smiled at the image. She grabbed the first aid kit that the brunette must have left for her next to the sink and kneeled in front of her.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"Nah. I could really take care of it myself, I mean, I do it all the time, but since you offered…" The brunette answered with a smile.

"This may sting a bit" The redhead cleaned it and wrapped it, and when she was done she planted a kiss on it. "All better now" She looked up and locked eyes with the brunette, who was looking at her lovingly, and they stayed like that for what seemed like hours, lost in each other's eyes. "You're really not making it easy for me to be just your friend, you know?" She said without breaking eye contact.

"I'm sorry… I'm probably confusing you…" The brunette whispered, still looking into her eyes.

"You say sorry too way much. Look, I'm free today again, if you don't have anything to do, I'd like to have a talk. Is that okay?" The brunette nodded and they got up to leave the bathroom.

"I made you breakfast though. I didn't get to finish, since you interrupted me and I almost died, but there should be enough pancakes for the both of us. We can talk later?"

"Sure, I want to see for myself if those are edible. If you can cook too, you're not getting rid of me. Ever" the ginger answered playfully and the brunette shot her a glare, but she couldn't keep a smile off her face".

After cleaning up everything from their breakfast, they both took a seat on the couch, facing each other. None of them knew how to start the conversation, so Chloe figured she should go first since she suggested it.

"All right, so, I know I said we could still hang out as friends, but that's not really what I want, and I know that's not what you want either, so can you tell me what's holding you back so we can address it? I know we have known each other for less than a week, but I really, really like you".

"I really like you too, Chloe, but… I mean, I'm not made for this. I'm like, faulty, you still don't know me that well. I've never been in a relationship, hell, I've only kissed two people in my whole life. You're just perfect, you could have anyone. I really don't understand why you could possibly want to waste your time in me" She said, with a low gaze.

"Beca, look at me" Chloe said, cupping her cheek. "You're not faulty, please don't talk that way about yourself. I don't care about the experience you have. I haven't dated many people, I'm really picky. But I go after what I want, and I really want you. You're funny, smart, talented, and you have one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen. Please, just give me a chance to take you on a date. We'll go slow, we don't have to be anything, just two people getting to know each other. That's what we're doing already, but it would make me really happy if you agreed to call this dating"

The brunette looked at her for a long moment. She didn't know what to do. If this had happened a couple of years ago, she'd have jumped to the opportunity. But she had given up on relationships. That was the hardest decision she had ever made. She cried herself to sleep every night, thinking how she'd never have what she had always wanted. Her whole life, she craved the intimacy of having a significant other. She'd go all out just to get her heart broken. So she had come to terms with the fact that it was just never going to happen, to avoid getting her hopes up just to be shattered later.

And then she met Chloe. She wasn't just a crush. She had just told her something she had never even told Benji and Stacie, and she didn't even have to try. She felt like she could trust the redhead with her life, which was stupid, she didn't even know her, but she seemed genuine.

Then she realised that all that was stupid. She had given up on love, thinking that nobody could ever want her that way, but here was Chloe, begging her to give her a chance, and she was saying no. Really, so, very stupid.

"Okay" She said quietly

"Okay?" The redhead said, a smile stretching her face

"Yeah, okay, but, um… I'm not ready to… you know, have a full on relationship. I mean, I don't know how to do it, so… you'll have to be patient with me. And also… this may make me a dickhead, but I can only do this if we're exclusive, like… I know I just said we couldn't be a real thing, but… I don't think I could handle you seeing other people while… you know, we go on dates. So, I'd understand if this isn't something you want I just… thought I'd be honest with you" The redhead was beaming at this point, and she launched herself to the brunette, enveloping her in a tight hug"

"Of course I'm interested Beca! This is all I wanted, we can take it as slow as you want, and I swear to help you every step of the way. And of course I won't see other people, are you crazy? Why would I want that?"

"I don't know… you know, I don't think I can offer you a physical relationship, at least not beyond cuddles, and I understand you have needs… and it might be selfish to ask you not to look for something I can't give you, I jus-"

"Okay, I'm gonna stop you right there" Chloe said, with a serious expression now. "I'll take what you give me and nothing more, and I swear I'll want for nothing else. I told you I go after what I want, and I want you and nobody else right now, so don't even think you're not giving me enough, okay?" she finished, stroking Beca's cheeks with her thumbs while she held her face.

"Okay" she whispered.

"It's completely okay if you say no, but do you think you can handle kissing? Because I've been wanting to kiss you for days"

"Yeah, I think I could" She said with a smile. "But not right now. I'm taking you out on a date today. I'll pick you up at 4. You can kiss me after our date, if you still want to. I mean, that is, of course, if you'd like to go on a date with me today, if not, that's totally cool". Chloe couldn't help but laugh.

"Do you even listen to me Beca? Of course I want to go on a date with you. I thought I'd be the one taking you out, but this is even better" She said excitedly and bouncing on her seat. "Where are we going? I need to know what to wear"

"I'm not telling you. But dress casual. Do you have to go get ready now or can you hang out a bit more?"

"I'm definitely hanging out. Aubrey should be home by 1, I'll go then so she can help me get ready. How about we continue what we were doing last night?" she said, getting herself comfortable in the couch.

"We can definitely do that" The brunette said, setting up the computer with a soft smile.

She couldn't help but feel a bit at ease. Maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay. Maybe she'd found somebody special. But she couldn't turn off the voice in the back of her head telling her that she was making a huge mistake, and that she was going to pay for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, and reviews are always welcome. See you!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So' I'd like to thank you for the amazing reviews. Just to let you know, I'll satisfy your requests, eventually. I already wrote a few more chapters, so it will take a while. For now, I'm posting three more. I hope you like them and thank you so much for your support.

Chloe had left after an early lunch and she was knocking on Aubrey's door now. It swung open to reveal her friend in comfortable clothes and a messy bun.

"Hey, I was going to relax after work, do you want to join me?" The blonde said as she let her friend in and went to sit on her couch.

"I can't relax Bree! I'm nervous. And excited. And I really need your help" the redhead said, looking frantic.

"Woah, okay. What's going on?" she asked, a bit worried. "Did you drink too much coffee again? Chlo, we talked about this. You're too excitable, too much caffeine won't do you any good"

"I didn't drink too much coffee! Beca's taking me out on a date, and I have no clue what to wear. And she's coming at 4 to pick me up. Help me? Pretty please?". The redhead said, pulling out the puppy eyes.

"Don't do that with your eyes. You know I'll say yes either way. Now, we have enough time, so you're going to explain to me how this happened, and what were you up to last night, since I noticed you didn't come back home, and then I'm gonna help you get ready, okay?" The lawyer said, putting her hands on her friend's shoulders to calm her down.

"Okay. Okay. Thanks Bree" She said as she sat down. "So, about yesterday…"

**45 minutes later…**

"She's just so dreamy and perfect, I swear there's no human being more perfect than her. It breaks my heart that she's so insecure, Bree, but I'm going to show her how great she is. Like, seriously, how on Earth doesn't she realise?"

"All right, now that I'm aware of all the ways she can be "dreamy" and "perfect", we need to get you ready. I swear you could talk about her all day if I don't stop you right now. Let's go to your apartment to get you dressed, come on" Aubrey said, before pulling her friend from the couch and making their way upstairs.

"Sorry, you probably didn't want to hear all that". She apologized, but the smile on her face told the blonde that she wasn't sorry at all.

"No, I actually didn't. Now, casual, right? Let's get started".

**3:45 PM**

"Do you think this looks good enough?" She opened her eyes wide, like she just realized something. "What if she doesn't like it? Bree, this needs to go perfectly or she won't want to go out with me again. And I need her to want to go out with me again".

"Chloe, calm your tits already! She's going to love it, and even if she doesn't, I don't think Beca's the kind of girl to care too much about looks. But I'm telling you, you look awesome" Aubrey said with a smile.

Chloe was wearing a nice baby blue tank top, with just enough cleavage, white skinny trousers that, as Chloe put it, "make my ass look great", and blue, flat, strappy sandals.

"It's not too casual, is it? Are you positive I shouldn't wear high heels? And why the hell am I so nervous?"

"No, it's not too casual, yes, I'm positive, you don't know what you are going to do today, you want to be comfortable, and you are nervous because you really like her and, no offence, but she can be difficult" just as she finished saying this, they heard the doorbell ring and Chloe widened her eyes and started bouncing on her feet. "She's ten minutes early. For Christ's sake, the girl is not even trying not to show how eager she is. Pull yourself together, I'm going to let her in" she said before leaving the room.

She opened the door to find a brunette that looked even more nervous than the redhead upstairs. She was shuffling on her feet and she looked at Aubrey like a lost puppy, waiting for someone to reassure her and hug her. She was holding a huge bouquet of red carnations.

"Hello, Beca, nice to see you again. Chloe will be down in a minute, make yourself comfortable". She said, guiding her to the redhead's sofa. Beca sat down, and put the bouquet in her lap as she looked down. She wiped the hands in her jeans every few seconds, and her fingers wouldn't stop tapping on her legs. "Jesus, Beca, I was planning on giving you the best friend talk, but seeing you, you're making me have that talk with Chloe. What is wrong with you two?" the brunette let out a nervous chuckle.

"Sorry, I'm just nervous… this is my first date, like, ever. I really don't know what I'm doing, and I couldn't get Stace and Benji to help me because they were already busy, so this is probably going to be bad… I hope it won't, but…" she sighed.

"Come on, she really likes you, you know this already. It's going to be fine" Just as she was saying this, the redhead appeared on the living room.

"Beca…" she looked like she didn't remember how to breathe and Aubrey had to roll her eyes at her. Chloe took a deep breath and continued. "You look amazing".

Beca was wearing a worn off sleeveless Metallica shirt with some skinny jeans and her black Chucks. It was simple, but it gave her a badass look that really fit her.

"I… uh… thank you, you look beautiful" She said, blushing "Oh, these are for you. I hope you like carnations…" She offered the bouquet.

"You… you got me flowers? Beca, you didn't have to, but I love them, thank you so much" She said taking them and started looking for a vase to put them in. Aubrey had left when they were busy staring at each other, but neither of them noticed.

"Of course I bought you flowers. They are my favourite, they are the symbol of the Portuguese revolution. I asked the lady at the shop what they mean, just in case they meant something I really didn't want them to say, and they stand for love, pride and admiration, so I think they fit." She said, without looking up from the ground, until she jolted her head up like she just realized what she said. "Oh, shit, shit, don't freak out, I didn't mean… I mean I did…" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay, what I meant is… I'm incredibly proud that you want me in your life, and I really admire you, in every possible way, the love thing… um… I'm not there yet… but I am hoping to… you know… get there. If you'll let me, that is. Okay, I really need to stop talking, but please don't freak out". She finished, looking at the floor again, and Chloe was beaming by now, so she took a step forward and enveloped the brunette in a hug.

"You're too sweet for words. You're going to have to do a lot more than that to freak me out. I love them, stop worrying" She whispered in her ear before pulling away, all the nerves from before completely fading. Aubrey was right, she had nothing to worry about. She was going out with the sweetest person in the planet. "So… where are you taking me?" Beca smirked at this, a bit more confident now.

"You'll have to wait to find out, let's go" She said, offering the redhead a hand and leading them outside the building and into a black Mustang and opening the passenger door for her. "Hop on, M'lady"

"Thank you very much, my sweet gentlewoman" She said as the brunette started the car.

Twenty minutes later, Beca pulled up and got out of the car, making her way around to open the door for Chloe.

They were standing in front of a park, and Chloe looked around to try and figure out where they were with no luck. When she laid eyes on the brunette, she saw her looking up at her nervously.

"Walk with me?" Beca asked, in a small voice, like she was scared, and Chloe gave her a reassuring smile.

"Of course, lead the way"

Beca was incredibly nervous. She didn't know what to do, or what was okay to do. She wanted to hold Chloe's hand. No, scratch that. She _needed_ to hold Chloe's hand, but she didn't want to move too fast. She was the one that asked to take it slow and she really didn't want to confuse the redhead. But a little hand holding wouldn't do any wrong to anyone, so she took a deep breath to calm her nerves and she went to reach Chloe's hand, but when their fingers brushed against each other she changed her mind and retracted her hand.

Chloe must have felt it, because she immediately gave her a soft smile and reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers and gripping it tightly.

"This okay?" The redhead asked, and the brunette eagerly nodded, which caused Chloe to chuckle lightly.

"You know, you don't need to be nervous. I already like you and I'm happy to just spend time with you. If this is going to be too much for you, we can take a step back and do this as friends hanging out and nothing more. I don't want you to feel pressured with me" The redhead said looking Beca in the eyes, and the brunette shook her head rapidly with wide eyes.

"No! I mean, unless you don't want to, I would really like to call this a date. It's just… I desperately want you to have fun today. I've never done this before, like, ever, and I don't know if you're going to like this at all and… I might be getting ahead of myself, but I'd like to repeat this. As in… several times. I'd like this to become a thing… like… dating… as in… frequently going out on dates. Okay I'm making a mess. I really want this to go well, forget everything else" She really needed to stop rambling around Chloe. Why was she even so nervous? She was fine last night. Chloe stopped and turned to face de brunette, grabbing her other hand and looking directly into her eyes.

"Beca, listen carefully to me. I don't care what we do today. In fact, we could just sit in that patch of grass over there and talk until dawn and I'd still want to go on another date with you. You're great, and being with you is enough to make me happy. Got it? Now stop being nervous, it's cute, but you're not going to enjoy this like that, and I want _you_ to want to repeat this. Okay?" the brunette visibly relaxed and smirked, more confident.

"Okay. And it's good that you're okay with sitting on a patch of grass to talk, because that's exactly what we're doing. Not in that one though, we have to walk a bit more. Come on" she said resuming their walk.

They walked hand in hand for about five more minutes, making light conversation and enjoying each other's company, until Beca guided them through some bushes.

"So… this is it… do you like it?"

Behind the bushes there was a small and private patch of grass, and from there you could see the pier and the sea beyond. It was breathtaking.

"This is beautiful Beca. How did you find this?" She said, turning to look at the brunette.

"Well, you know how I'm a bit asocial and stuff… and Stacie and Benji have keys to my apartment, so when I really want to be alone without interruptions, I just come here. I found this spot on my first year in LA, while I was taking a walk to clear my mind. I thought I'd share it with you since… you know, your company is not something I dread. Just don't tell anyone else about this" Beca finished with a smile that Chloe returned before hugging her.

"Thank you for bringing me here, this means so much to me" The redhead murmured against her ear before releasing her and sitting down, Beca following her actions. Once they were both sitting, Chloe moved to lay her head on Beca's thighs and the brunette started stroking her hair.

"This was actually what I was nervous about. This is a secret I've guarded for so long, and I'm revealing it to you. My brain is telling me that I'm losing my mind, like how can I be giving up the one spot where I can be completely by myself to a person I've only known for days? But it felt right, and now, being here with you, I know I made the right choice" Beca said looking down lovingly at Chloe.

"Your secret is safe with me Becs. I'm going to show you my secret spot on our next date, so we're even. It's not nearly as beautiful as this, but it's quiet and you can use it whenever you want, sound good?"

"Yeah…" she said, still smiling.

"You know, I was incredibly nervous today, but now I know that I have no reason to. You make me feel so weirdly safe" She said, grabbing Beca's hand that wasn't stroking her hair and bringing them to her chest "I think it's safe to say by now that we feel like we've known each other for years. And I couldn't be happier about it" she said with a soft smile.

"I'm glad, and I feel the same way. Oh, by the way, this is totally not the only thing we're doing today, I was messing with you earlier. But I'd really like it if we could relax here for a while?"

"Yes, this is perfect. Why don't we play 21 questions? But let's just do 21 questions that we both have to answer, or we'll never finish"

"All right, I'll start. Favourite colour?"

"Light green. Yours?"

"White"

"If you had to eat the same food everyday for the rest of your life, what would it be?"

"I love food more than life itself. This question is a nightmare, but I guess… something meaty? Like steak… or hamburgers… or, can I choose a barbeque with all kinds of meat? Yeah, that sounds right. What's yours?" Chloe laughed at this.

"Fish and chips. Usually, the first thing I do when I go to Britain is find a fish and chips restaurant. I'm obsessed."

"You're kidding" Beca laughed. "You'll see, you're definitely going to love the next part of the date. So, cats or dogs?"

"Dogs, absolutely. Please don't say you're a cat person"

"Hey, what if I was? What would I answer now? I'm totally not though, dogs are the best. I've been wanting to adopt one for a while, but I'm afraid I won't be able to take good care of it, and dogs deserve all the best so…"

"You should get one Becs" Chloe said, stroking Beca's hand with her thumb. "I could help you take care of it. I'd adopt one, but there are no pets allowed in my building"

"I'll think about it"

/

They kept playing for a couple more hours until Beca realised the time.

"Hey, I know we still have 5 more questions to finish, but we need to get going or we'll be late for dinner. Don't worry, we're not going far, it's a nice walk" Beca said, still stroking Chloe's hair.

"Okay, I'm a bit hungry to be honest, let's go"

They walked through the park in a comfortable silence, still holding hands, and Beca led them to the sidewalk, where there was a food truck parked.

"So, you're not going to believe it, but I swear I come here frequently and I had this planned since you left my apartment today" Beca said as she led them in front of the food truck, which turned out to be a fish and chips truck.

"I could kiss you right now" Chloe said, smiling at Beca. "Actually, that's not news" she winked and the brunette blushed. "So, is the food good?"

"Yeah, the owner is a friend of mine, I met him years ago walking in a radio station, he was planning on going into the music business, but he is so British that she couldn't stand the thought of not being able to buy some good fish and chips in LA, so he opened this food truck. I actually asked him to park here today so we didn't have to walk much" she said with a shrug.

"Wow, you're lazy" Chloe teased, trying to hold her laugh, and Beca glared at her.

"I am not, I am looking out for you. You're welcome" She said and Chloe laughed and planted a kiss in her cheek, making Beca blush.

"OI! BECKY!" they heard someone yell and Beca turned to talk to the blonde man in the food truck who was smiling widely.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that? Luke, this is my… um… friend, Chloe. Chlo, this is Luke, acquaintance. I don't like him that much" Beca said, making the other two laugh.

"You don't mean that, Becky! Nice to meet you, Chloe, are you treating Becky right? Do not hurt her. Have Stacie and Benji had the best friend talk with you? Should I?"

"Luke shup the fuck up and start cooking, that's what I'm paying you for"

"But you never pay! You come here, insult me and eat for free. And you eat a lot, I might add" Luke said teasingly.

"It's you who never takes my money. Now cook, please, the lady is hungry. Also, you're not having a talk with her, don't even think about it"

"Right on it. Two Becky specials!" He said, turning to the kitchen and getting to work.

"What's a Becky special?" Chloe asked, a bit confused.

"You'll see, but it's basically all the food in the truck in a to-go plate" Chloe laughed at this, she was looking forward to see if Beca ate as much as they said.

"All right. You two seem really tight"

"Yeah, we are. I met him when I first came to LA and he's always looked out for me. I haven't known him as long as Stacie and Benji, but he's like a big brother, and he takes the role seriously. That's why he wants to have a talk with you". Beca explained.

"Oh, you should let him then! Stacie kinda likes me, and I don't see Benji giving the best friend talk to anyone, so this might be my only chance to get threatened to be killed if I hurt you. I can't miss out on that" The redhead said with a smile.

"You know what? You're fucking crazy, so, if you want, go have the talk with him, I'm not responsible for anything he says though"

"Okay!" She chirped before skipping to where the blonde was cooking. "Hey Luke, wanna have that talk with me now?" Beca shook her head and went to sit on a bench nearby to give them the privacy to do their weird thing.

"Really? I can give you the talk? Oh, this is going to be so amazing. Give me a second" He said, turning off the stoves and the fryer, since they were the only costumers at the moment. "So. I know you. You're famous. Do you have any idea of what Beca is risking by going out with you? She's managed to separate her image from her professional name. I hope you understand how important that is to her" Luke said, a serious expression on his face.

"I hadn't given it too much thought, to be honest… but I understand how that is important to Beca, and I'd never do anything to threaten her privacy. I really want her to be happy, and I'd like it to be me the one to make her feel that way" Chloe answered, equally as serious, and Luke nodded.

"Okay, just… don't hurt her, okay? I'm surprised she even agreed to go out with you, I just want to make sure you understand how precious her trust is. I don't want to tell you what to do, because it's not my place, and I am very biased, but I highly recommend you to do everything in your power to get that girl to marry you, or you'll probably regret it" Luke said with a teasing smile, but Chloe knew he was half serious, and she nodded with a small smile.

"You can count on it. I promise you. So, what? Am I not getting a death threat? That's what I came here for".

"You odd little thing… now I know why Beca likes you. I personally think that's bollocks, since I once cried when I ran over a raccoon on the road. But I'll have you know that, being the great chef that I am, I could easily make your meat pass as fresh fish from the Atlantic. So don't hurt Beca if you don't want to end up deep fried" He said before turning back to the stoves and Chloe went to sit next to Beca on the bench.

"Did you have fun? Do you feel threatened enough now or should we go see if the Russian mob can do something about it? I hear they're good at that"

"Oh Luke did the job, thank you for caring" the redhead answered, throwing an arm over Beca's shoulders and scooting closer. "I really like him, he seems to really care about you". Beca turned to look at her with an odd look in her face that Chloe couldn't figure out.

"I uh… yeah, he's great" she said, looking down at the floor. "He… um… he's single, you know? So, like, if you want to… yeah, I can give you his number, so you can talk. I know this was supposed to be a date, but I totally understand" Beca finished, closing her eyes and looking absolutely defeated. Chloe looked at her confused until she understood what Beca was saying.

"BECA WHAT THE HELL?! Listen to me, and listen good. I am not interested in Luke, and I am not interested in anyone that isn't you, you hear me? Don't you dare think otherwise" Beca looked up, confused.

"But… you said… you said you like him… and… you know, I'm not into… men and that stuff, but Luke is very good looking, and he's awesome, and so are you so… it makes sense…"

"Beca, no, stop. I don't know who or what made you believe that you're anything short of perfect, but that's what you are to me, and I swear I'm going to make you realise it. I only like you, and I've told you, I'm really picky. So please, don't diminish yourself, please" she said before enveloping her in a hug and planting a kiss on top of her hair. "You're amazing, and I feel sorry for the people who don't see it" She whispered.

"Girls! Your food is ready! Stop feeling each other up!" Luke called and the broke apart, both smiling softly.

"I'm sorry, I just… you said you liked him and I thought… you know… I'm sorry. Let's go get our food" the brunette offered with a sheepish smile, and they both made their way to the truck. "Hey, please let me pay you this time, at least for her meal. I'm going to make you go bankrupt if you keep giving me free food"

"Don't worry Becky, I actually like this one for you, so it's my pleasure to provide food for your date. Go away and enjoy. I'll call you tomorrow all right?" Luke said with a warm smile towards Beca, handing her a big plastic bag.

"Okay, thank you Luke, bye!" She said, taking Chloe's hand and walking away. "Okay, so I was thinking of eating our food on one of the picnic tables of the park but… you know, after the shitty stunt I just pulled, I'd understand if you just wanted to take your food and go home. I'm more than happy to drive you home right now" Chloe smiled at her and gave her hand a squeeze.

"Picnic table sounds great, let's go, we have five more questions to go!" Beca beamed at that, not believing her luck at having found somebody so perfect for her.

They ate their huge dinner while they talked, and Chloe was surprised with how much Beca could actually eat. While she couldn't even get halfway through her food, the brunette finished hers and then ate some of Chloe's leftovers, and the redhead could only watch in amazement.

"Where the hell does it all go? You just ate more than your weight in food. It was weirdly exciting, thinking you were going to explode with every bite" She said as Beca patted her stomach.

"You eat like a bird, Beale, I could eat more, but I was planning on taking you for dessert, and I want to be able to walk. So, you ready?" Beca said, picking their trash and standing up.

"You're kidding. You're going to eat more? Oh my god. I think that not even my salary as actress is going to be enough to feed you"

"Shut up" She said taking her hand. She led them through the park, to a quiet area of the pier, with only a few people walking by, and stopped in front of an ice cream parlour. "Do you want ice cream or not?" She said, facing Chloe.

"I always want ice cream, Beca, it's rude to even ask" Beca laughed and stepped inside, pulling Chloe with her.

They got their ice cream and sat close to each other in a bench facing the sea while they ate.

"So, this is actually the last thing I have planned… I am aware that, as a date, it was kinda lame, but did you have fun?" Beca asked, finishing her ice cream.

"I had a lot of fun, Becs" the redhead answered, planting a kiss on her cheek before throwing and arm over her shoulders and pulling her close. "So… if this is the end of the date… can I make a decision already on whether I want to kiss you or not?" She asked in a low tone, with her face really close to Beca's, caressing the back of her neck. Beca swallowed loudly and nodded, not trusting her voice.

"All right. I'm going to kiss you now" Chloe said, before attaching their lips in a soft and gentle kiss. They felt butterflies, or more like squirrels running, in their stomachs. They kept the kiss sweet and gentle, but they didn't separate until they needed air.

"Wow" Beca said, her eyes still closed and a dazed look on her face. Chloe giggled.

"You're and amazing kisser, you know that?" She gave her another short, gentle kiss.

"So are you. I mean… wow…" Chloe giggled again and looked at Beca in the eyes, beaming.

"So, I have a question" Beca nodded, telling her to go ahead. "Can I call you baby already, or is it too soon?" She said, in a joking tone, except she was totally going to call her baby, whether she likes it or not.

"Sure, if I can call you babe" Beca answered, surprising Chloe. "Just not un public, I have a badass image to maintain". She finished with a smirk.

"Sure you do, _baby_. Okay, so, I would love to spend more time with you tonight, but I actually have work to do tomorrow…" The redhead said with a pout. "So what if you take me home now, so I can give you a good night kiss, and we'll talk tomorrow?"

"Okay, but first, I want to say sorry again for what happened with Luke… I feel awful for acting the way I did an-"

"Hey, it's okay, I understand. I'm really not mad Becs, as long as you understand that I like you, and only you, we're good. All right?" Beca nodded

"All right. Let's go find the car then" The brunette said, standing up and walking towards the car, holding Chloe's hand.

/

Forty minutes later they were in front of Chloe's apartment door, standing very close together and looking into each other's eyes.

"Good night baby. I had a great time today" Chloe said, moving her arms to wrap around Beca's neck, while the brunette's sneaked around her waist.

"Good night Chlo, I did too" Chloe leaned in and gave her a sweet but short kiss before disentangling from each other.

"Call me when you get home, yeah?" She said, fishing for her keys.

"Okay, bye, _babe_ " Beca answered with a cheesy smile while walking towards the elevator.

When Chloe's apartment door closed behind her, she let out a squeal and started jumping up and down in excitement.

At the same time, in the elevator, Beca raised her fist in victory and said "fuck yeah! She calls me baby!", before walking out of the building with an ear splitting smile.


	6. Chapter 6

Chloe woke up the next day and got ready for her audition. The deal was almost closed but she needed to come in for a last one. It as a book adaptation and she had to get the okay from the writer.

She came in and nailed it. They told her they'd start shooting next month and gave her a schedule. When she got home, she left her things and went straight to Aubrey's, hoping her best friend would be home.

She knocked and the door opened a few seconds later.

"Hey Chlo, I was just preparing a case. Come in."

"Hey, I can come back later if you're too busy"

"Don't worry, I have time. So… how did it go?" Aubrey said with a teasing smile. She had no doubt that both the date and the audition had gone well for the redhead, judging by her huge smile.

"I got the part. And the date was mostly perfect, but I need to talk to you about something…" the redhead said, unsure.

"Okay… I'm listening…"

"Okay, so she took me for dinner to a food truck owned by one of her best friends. He's like a big brother, or so she said, so I went to have "the talk" with him, even though Beca was opposed, and it made me realise something… You know how she's even more famous than me, but she's managed to separate her image from all that, right?" Aubrey nodded, telling her to go ahead. "And you know, paparazzis don't follow me around as much as other celebrities, since I'm not _that_ big, but they're bound to see us sooner or later, and I really don't want to threaten her privacy, so I was thinking…"

"You want to know if you can do something to prevent that from happening before Beca realises and dumps you?" the blonde bluntly said and the Chloe gave her a light nod, biting her lower lip nervously. "Yeah, don't worry, I'll take care of it. You just have to do a press conference saying that you're seeing someone, and that they have no permission to publish any pictures of you two, or follow her around, or you'll sue the hell out of them. I'll sent an official communicate to the main media just to make sure."

"Really? That almost seems too easy."

"Yeah, I mean, they have no right to invade people's lives. If you tell them in advance that they're not allowed to do so, you shouldn't have a problem."

"Okay. Wow. I'll talk to Beca before doing anything. Thank you Bree, this was really bothering me" The redhead said, feeling lighter already. "Oh, there's something else I need your advice for. Yesterday, after talking with Luke, her friend, I told her I liked him, and she freaked out on me." She said with a sigh. "Actually, no, she didn't freak out. She just suddenly looked sad and basically told me that she'd give me his number so we could talk, and that I didn't have to worry about her getting in the middle of us."

"She what?!" Aubrey said with wide eyes. "What did you do?"

"I made it clear that I'm only interested in her, she apologised and we're good. But I'm worried about her… She clearly has an incredibly low self-esteem, and I want to help her, but I don't know how."

"You should probably talk to Stacie about that… That's out of my area of expertise"

"You're right… I'll do that. Thank you so much Bree. I don't know what I'd do for you" Chloe said, giving her a hug.

"Okay, now tell me about the rest of the date" She said with a smile and Chloe beamed and jumped to tell her everything about it.

/

Beca got home from the studio at 8 PM and she felt exhausted. She dumped her things and went to lay down in the couch when she realized that there were three more people in her living room"

"Dudes! That's creepy. How long have you been here? I didn't give you the keys so you could hang out here, you know?"

"We know Becs, but you weren't going to tell us about the date if we don't force it out of you, so here we are. How did it go?" Stacie said with a smile and Benji and Emily nodded.

"Ugh, it was good. I took her to the park and then we had dinner from Luke's truck. She liked it, we're good. What else do you want? Beca said rolling her eyes and taking a seat next to Stacie.

"Seriously? This your first date ever, with an amazing girl, I might add, and that's all you have to say? We're expecting details!" Benji said excitedly and Emily looked about to jump with anticipation, clearly holding back all the questions she always has.

"Well, you're not getting them. Fuck off. I do need to talk to you about something though…"

"Here we go…" Stacie said, getting comfortable in the couch.

"Shut up! Okay, so, first… do you think I'm making a mistake? I mean, I just… I guess I don't see why a person like Chloe would want to be my girlfriend. It's not like she is, because we're taking it slow, getting to know each other and that shit, but I think that's where this is headed…" Beca said, looking at her hands in her lap.

"Beca, you're amazing, we all love you. You just need to let your guard down for a bit. I know this is hard, since you've never done anything like this, but-" Stacie interrupted Benji.

"Don't be fucking difficult Beca. You like her, she likes you, you're going to have a relationship, and it may not work, but she could also be the love of your life, so deal with it. She's the nicest person in the planet, she's not going to hurt you on purpose, and if she says she likes you, you have to believe her. End of story. Don't you dare mess this chance of happiness with your insecurities or I'll beat the crap out of you. Understand?" Stacie said aggressively, knowing this was the only way to get through her friend. Beca just sighed and nodded.

"Okay, but that brings us to the next topic… I almost already messed up yesterday… Chloe was very cool and nice about it, but… Well, you see, while we waited for our food, Chloe went to talk with Luke, since she said she probably wouldn't be getting the best friend talk with any of you… I don't know what they talked about, but when she came back, she told me she liked him and I… may have offered to give her his number, and told her we could just forget that the date ever happened…"

"BECA!" All three of them yelled, Stacie face palmed, Emily shook her head and Benji just sighed.

"Okay. I've been quiet for long enough, so brace yourself" Emily started. "Like Stacie said, she likes you, deal with it. Seriously Beca, don't do that to yourself, just be happy! You deserve it, after all. You have no reason to be insecure, especially with Luke, come on, that man loves you to death, he'd never do anything like that, nor would Chloe, I think, she's just too nice."

"I know I don't have to worry about Luke, it was like a reflex reaction. When she said she liked him, I just thought she had finally come to her senses and realised that there are way better people than me. What I'm worried about is that I'll do it again, because I really can't help it, and that she'll get fed up with my shit and dump my sorry ass…" Beca looked defeated and Stacie threw a comforting arm over her shoulders.

"Listen, Becs, this is not going to be easy, but you need to learn to control it. Whenever you think you're not good enough for her, or that she likes someone else, just count to three and think again, okay? It's okay to be jealous, and I'm sure Chloe won't mind it unless you become a controlling bitch, but you have to stop talking yourself down, okay?" Stacie said, softly now. "And we're here for you. Whenever you're doubting yourself, you can talk to any of us. We really want you to be happy Beca"

"Okay, thank you guys, I actually feel better. So, you staying for dinner?"

"Sure, let's order Thai and watch some TV" Emily said, jumping out of her seat to go find the restaurant's menu.

/

The rest of the week went by quietly. Chloe had told her that she needed to talk to her about something, but she was really busy with Ed's album and couldn't make the time for it. They texted and talked every night, but it wasn't enough, so when Saturday came by, they couldn't wait to see each other that night.

They were coming back to last week's pub with Aubrey and Stacie, and Emily and Benji were joining them this time too.

Hot Ginger: _Morning baby! I miss you, can't wait to see you tonight xxx_

My Baby: _Morning babe. I miss you too. Are you doing something before the evening?_

Hot Ginger: _No, I'm free all day. You? xxx_

My Baby _: I gotta go into work in the morning, but I'm free after 13:00. Wanna meet for lunch?_

Hot Ginger: _Yes! I didn't think I could wait until tonight to see you. I'll meet you in the same diner we went to last time. Have fun at work! Xxx_

My Baby _: All right! See ya later_

Beca put her phone in her pocket with a smile and left for work.

She tried to focus on her work, but she couldn't keep her mind off of Chloe, and Ed noticed.

"All right Beca, he said through the intercom. "You're completely out, so we're done." He said before coming out.

"I'm so, so sorry Ed, I swear I'll pull myself together, please don't look for another producer" She rushed out, thinking that the ginger was mad, and he laughed loudly.

"Do you think I'm stupid? You're the best Beca, and you're producing all my albums from now on. We're just done for the day, but we're staying here so the big bosses think we're actually working. Now tell me, what's got you looking out in space dreamingly?" He said, taking a seat

"Oh, all right. It's nothing, I just met this girl, and we're… kinda… dating, I guess, and I'm meeting her later for lunch and I'm a bit spaced out. I'm really sorry. We can try again, I'll focus, I promise"

"Oh, no, we can't. You've been working nonstop since Wednesday, so we're both taking a break. I swear, woman, does every artist you work with have to stop you from working yourself to death? You know no bloody limits" he said teasingly and Beca chuckled.

"Yeah, they kinda do… You're the laziest though, I mean, you can write five songs a day for a month and you won't even mind, but you when you have to record them you need a gun to your head to get to work" Ed laughed again.

"True that… So… can I meet the girl? I swear I'll leave after, I'm just curious as to who has you like that"

"Really? She'd love that, actually, she's a big fan of yours." Beca said, happy to be able to surprise Chloe.

"Fantastic. Now, wanna play something? We still have a couple of hours to kill" he said, taking two beers out of the fridge she kept in the studio for special occasions.

"Lazy, British, scum… Okay, what are we playing?"

/

By the time 12:30 came by, they were both a bit tipsy. They ended up playing "Roxanne". Twice. And they were now playing would you rather when Beca's phone chimed.

Hot Ginger: _Hey! I'm on my way, see you in a few! Xxx_

"Shit, Chloe's on her way already. We're drunk. In the morning. This is all your fault, ginger. You're the kind of kid moms don't want their children hanging out with." Beca said, glaring at Ed.

"I'm a lot of fun though. Let's go gather our things. They sell beer at that diner right?"

"Seriously? You want to drink more?" The singer looked at her with his eyebrows raised and Beca broke her façade. "They better. If they don't we're going somewhere else". She said, hanging her duffel bag from her shoulder and making her way out, with Ed going behind her.

/

When Chloe got to the diner, she asked a waiter to take her to "the private room", as Beca had told her to do, and when she got there she saw Beca sitting on a booth, laughing at something somebody she couldn't see had said. She thought it was weird, since she believed they were going to be alone, but she made her way to her.

"Hey baby" She kissed her cheek and sat next to her, her eyes widening at the sight of the man in front of her. "Ed… Sheeran… Oh my god" she said with her mouth open.

"You're dating a ginger? Are you serious? After all the shit you've given me? And you're dating Chloe Beale? Jesus Beca. You didn't think to tell me?" Ed said looking incredulously at Beca before turning to Chloe. "Nice to meet you, Chloe Beale. I'm a great fan of your work. You're also my hero for putting up with this one" He said, extending a hand.

"Don't shake his hand! That's how he eats souls. He then uses them to create songs." Beca said, slapping Ed's hand away and turning to kiss Chloe in the lips. "Hi babe" She said with a drunken smile.

"Beca, are you drunk? I thought the pet names were only to be used in private" Chloe said, equal parts amused and confused by the brunette's behaviour.

"Pfff no. Not drunk. Why would you think that?"

"She is. And so am I. She got me drunk so she didn't have to work. Wanna join the party?" Ed said smiling widely.

"I did not! He got me drunk so he didn't have to work!"

"Yeah, cause she thought thinking about you was better than my singing."

"Shut the fuck up you fucking ginger"

"Woah, Becs, I really don't like you using ginger as an insult." Chloe said, not even trying to hide her amusement. "So thinking about me, huh? Hard day at work, I see"

"It was" Beca said with a pout. "Working with that one is a fucking nightmare".

"I can see that" the actress said, laughing. "So, Ed, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Chloe turned to the other ginger.

"Well, she said she was dating a girl and she was meeting her for lunch. I never thought it would be you, or I would have made myself presentable. Now, what do you think about ginger babies?"

"Man! I'm right here! What do you think you're doing?" Beca said, looking pissed, and the other two laughed.

"Relax, baby, brunettes are so much cuter" Chloe cooed and Beca gave Ed a shit eating grin.

"Hear that, fucker? I'm cuter than you. Back off."

"Nah, you're not, but I'm not interested in gingers either. It would be too much sexiness together, nobody could handle that" Chloe laughed again.

"Okay, I'm definitely joining the party, we were going to do this later anyway. Did you order food?"

"Nah, we were waiting for you. Also, Ed's leaving. Bye Ed. See you on Monday" Beca said, kicking him out.

"Beca, be nice! You should join us for lunch. You can leave later." Chloe said and Ed nodded.

"Okay, I'm gonna do that, if you're fine with it, Beca"

"Yeah, sure. But you're leaving me alone with her later, got it?"

"Alrighty, don't worry. I don't want to see you making out with anyone, that's disgusting." The singer said, pulling a face and Chloe laughed, reaching for Beca's hand under the table.

Right then, a waitress came in to take their order, and came back minutes later with beers for everyone.

When they finished lunch, the three of them were buzzed and laughing like idiots.

"Oh, man. This was fun. I do have to leave though, I have plans now. It was a pleasure to meet you, Chloe Beale. I hope we can do this again some other time" He said, extending his hand again, and this time Chloe shook it before Beca tried to slap it away.

"Of course, just ask Beca to bring you. Nice to meet you too." Chloe said with a smile.

"Bye Ed, please come ready to work on Monday, we've slacked enough this week"

"No we didn't, Beca, we worked more hours than normal. You seriously have a problem. Good bye ladies" He said rolling his eyes before walking out of the room. When he was gone, Chloe turned to Beca.

"So that was a surprise. He's nice" The ginger said with a smile, scooting closer to the brunette.

"Yeah he is. Don't tell him I said that though. I thought you'd like to meet him, but I didn't plan on him staying for lunch, since you wanted to talk and all, I hope you didn't mind. He has a habit of making himself at home."

"No, don't worry, I had fun. About that talk, you're not too drunk, right?"

"Nah, don't worry, just slightly buzzed, but I can have a serious talk. Tell me." The brunette said, facing Chloe with a smile.

"Okay, so, first, I want you to know that I'm serious about… this. Me and you, you know?" Beca smiled and nodded. "Right, so, since I'm serious, I'm thinking long term here, and I realised that, unlike you, I'm a public figure, so, if we go out and paparazzis see us, they're probably going to take a picture and publish it." Beca's face grew serious, just realising now that that was probably going to happen. "Right, so I don't want that happening, under any circumstances. If you ever want to be public, I want it to be your choice. That's why I talked to Aubrey, and she's going to send a communicate to the main media saying that they're not allowed to publish anything with your face in it, not follow you around, or they'll be sued."

"Really? Wow. That's so thoughtful. Thank you Chloe. This means so much to me. Is it that easy though? What about minor press?" Beca said, pleasantly surprised with the gesture and feeling her heart grow bigger.

"Right, that's the thing. Aubrey recommended me to do a press conference, you know, just so everyone knows about this. And that would imply me saying that I'm seeing someone I don't want in the press. I'd understand if you think it's too soon to say such a thing. That's why I haven't done anything. I wanted to know what you think." The ginger explained, looking her in the eye, and Beca smiled widely.

"Yeah, I'm okay with that. Thanks again babe. I also wanted to talk to you about something" Chloe nodded. "So, after talking with Stacie, Benji and Emily, I realised that… well, I've been holding back from this relationship because I was scared you'd dump me when you realised I'm not worth it, an-"

"Beca, I'm no-" Beca raised a hand to interrupt her.

"No, let me finish. I was going to say that I realised how stupid that is. You have to understand that I'm new to this, though, and I need to ask you to be patient with me with some things. Also, I still want to take it slow and make things the right way, because I really like you and I wanna be sure of every step we take. But… what I'm trying to say is that I want a relationship with you. A long one. And I'm going to try and put all my insecurities aside and just focus on being happy and making you happy with me. If you're okay with all this, that is." Chloe was beaming by now, and it was contagious.

"I'm more than okay, Beca. That's all I wanted to hear." She said, before pulling her in for a long and sweet kiss. I'm going to help you with your insecurities, though. So please don't put them aside, just share them with me and I'll help you in every way I can. Okay?" She said, wrapping her arms around Beca's neck.

"Okay" The brunette said before pecking her on the lips. "Thank you. I'm so glad I met you." She said, and she gave her another peck. "So, unless you want more serious talks. More beer?" Chloe laughed and nodded.

"Beer sounds good. We're going to be wasted by the time we meet the others, you know?"

"Probably." Beca said, standing up to go get more drinks.

They left the diner after one more beer and went to the nearest grocery store to stock up on beers and food to have dinner, before taking a cab to Chloe's apartment, hoping to catch a ride later with Aubrey.

They spent the afternoon cuddling in the couch, watching Mr Robot and drinking more beer, and by dinner time they were both properly drunk.

"Babe… I'm kinda hungry, and I know we bought stuff to make dinner, but I really don't think any of us is in the right condition to cook. Should we order in?" Beca said, looking up from where she was laying on Chloe's chest.

"Don't worry, got that covered." Chloe said, reaching out to pick up her phone from the table and speed dialing a number. "Hi, Bree!... Yeah, I'm drunk, how the hell did you know?... Okay, so, wanna come up and make us dinner? I'm with Beca and we can't cook right now… Yeah we have groceries… Okay, you're the best, love you!" She hung up her phone and looked at Beca. "She's cooking for us. That weirdo loves cooking, and she's also really good at it, you'll see"

"Your best friend is awesome" Beca said, burying her face further in Chloe's chest and sighing contentedly. "We don't have to get up, do we? I'm really comfy"

"Nah, she's got a key and she's not letting us anywhere near the kitchen, so we're good until the food's ready. She's going to make us do the dishes though." Chloe said stroking Beca's hair.

"Cool. Can we nap? All that beer has made me sleepy."

Just as she was saying that, the apartment door opened and a blonde appeared in the living room.

"This is no way for two grown adults to live their life. Don't come into the kitchen. And try to sober up, you're doing the dishes later." She said before turning around and going into the kitchen.

"Don't I know her…" They both laughed. "Bree! We're taking a nap, wake us up when dinner is ready!" Choe yelled.

"Alright!" they heard Aubrey yell back, before drifting off to sleep.

They were woken up about an hour later by a loud noise, that turned out to be Aubrey beating a frying pan with a spoon.

"Jesus, blondie, keep it down" Beca complained sleepily.

"Stop complaining and get up, dinner is ready" And that's when they both realised how good the apartment smelled and how hungry they were, so they disentangled from each other and went to sit at the table, hand in hand.

Aubrey had cooked pasta with tomato sauce, and it looked amazing. Once the three of them had food on their plates, Aubrey looked between them.

"So, what's the difference between what you're doing and actually being girlfriends?" Beca choked with the food she had in her mouth and blushed a deep shade of red, and Chloe patted her back.

"Bree! You can't say things like that! We're taking it slow. We call it how we want to call it. End of story" Chloe firmly said and Beca smiled gratefully at her. "I'm going to get some wine, we need to keep the buzz going until we get to the pub."

"I'm not drinking. I think I'm gonna have to take care of you two tonight. You're like teenagers, I swear" Aubrey said looking disapprovingly at them.

"You're far too responsible. But thank you, I appreciate it. Benji and Emily are coming too and they don't drink much, so you won't be alone taking care of us. Also, what the hell, we can take care of ourselves!" Beca said.

"Sure you can. I'm glad I won't be the only sober one, though. Stacie is a nightmare when she's drunk."

"Yeah she is… worse than us two combined. I always tell her to make right choices. She never does." The brunette said through a mouthful of pasta. "This tastes great by the way."

"She's probably going the whole pot. You'll see." Chloe said, coming back with the wine.

"I made all the food you bought, there's enough for at least six people"

"Yeah, we bought that much for a reason. Wait and see…" Chloe said, and Beca just kept eating, not caring about anything but the food in front of her.

When Beca finished the last bite, she looked up to see an open mouthed Aubrey. "What?" She said taking a sip of the wine.

"Do you have any idea how much you've eaten? How are you even still functioning?" the blonde said, completely bewildered.

"Well, I was starving! Wait, we bought ice cream for dessert, I'll go get it" She said, getting up. Aubrey's mouth hung open once again. And Chloe just laughed.

"She's not serious, is she?"

"Oh, yeah she is. I mentioned how much she ate in our date, you shouldn't be that surprised"

"I thought you were exaggerating! She could make five buffet restaurants go bankrupt in a day!"

Beca came back with ice cream for everyone, and when they finished eating, they made their way to Aubrey's car to get to the pub.

When they got there, Benji, Stacie and Emily were already there in a table.

"Beca, you're drunk. I can see it from afar. Did you spend the whole afternoon pre-gaming?" Stacie said amusedly.

"And the whole morning. When I met her for lunch she was already buzzed" Chloe chimed in.

"And you decided to join her?" Aubrey shook her head disapprovingly.

"I was merry, not yet buzzed. And it was Ed's fault. He never wants to work, and I'm weak Stacie! You know that." Beca pouted, taking a seat and crossing her arms and Chloe kissed her cheek and took her hand. "Okay, let's resume the beer tasting!"

Two hours later, Beca, Chloe and Stacie were wasted, talking nonsense in a side of the table, and Aubrey, Benji and Emily were looking amusedly at them.

"Do you know what's great?" Beca slurred. "Ireland! They have the greatest beer in the world. And leprechauns! You gotta love those tiny bastards. Also, gingers. Gingers are great, right Stacie? Chlo, you're a ginger. And you're great." She smiled drunkenly at the redhead, who returned and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Awww, you're so cute together." Stacie gushed. "You're great too, Becs. And so am I. Brunettes are great. Right, Chloe?" The redhead beamed at this.

"Beca's the best!"

"Not what I asked, but okay, I'll take it."

Right then, Beca and Chloe started kissing sloppily, and Aubrey had to pull them apart.

"That's enough! You're not getting to second base for the first time in a dark pub while drunk. You're going home, ladies"

"Boooo! You're no fun, Posen" Stacie told her

"You too, Stacie! Guys!" she said turning to Benji and Emily, who were crying from laughter. "You're not helping!"

"Sorry Aubrey, it's just so weird to see Beca like that. I'm going to cherish this memory forever." Benji said, wiping his tears away. "Okay, Stace, Becs, you're coming with us, I'll drop you off at your apartments." He said to the brunettes, and Chloe immediately wrapped her arms protectively around Beca.

"Don't you dare take her! Beca's cuddling with me tonight, aren't you baby?" The ginger said, looking at the brunette with a pout.

"Hell yeah I am! I'll see you around, losers. Chlo, hang on to me, I just passed my apparition test. I'll take us there" Beca said standing up, and Chloe followed suit, wrapping her arms around the brunette's tiny frame.

"Don't drink and apparate, Beca. Come on, I'll drive us." Aubrey said, standing up too. "Are you two gonna be okay with that one?"

"Yeah, don't worry, we've been dealing with her for years. Drive those two safely, and don't let them do anything stupid". Emily said, as Benji tried to get Stacie to get up.

"I'm not going! The hunter wants to come out and play!" Stacie yelled and Emily shook her head.

"Every damn time… Don't worry, we'll be okay. Bye girls. It was very nice to meet you Aubrey!" Emily said, hugging all of them goodbye.

"Bye Emily. Nice to meet you too. Bye Benji. Bye Stacie." Aubrey said, before pushing Beca and Chloe —who were discussing why the apparition wasn't working— towards the entrance.

When the brunette and the redhead made it to Chloe's bedroom, the immediately changed into some comfortable clothes and got into bed.

Chloe moved to spoon Beca and pulled her close, wraping both her arms around her. "Good night baby" She whispered against the back of Beca's neck.

"Night babe" Beca whispered back and sighed in contentment before them both drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

The next three weeks went on in a similar manner. They met for coffee or lunch whenever their schedules allowed it and they went on a couple more dates, one to a fancy restaurant and another to the amusement park. They kissed and cuddled. But their relationship wasn't progressing.

Every time Chloe or somebody else mentioned the word 'girlfriend' Beca would get nervous and change the subject. And Chloe hadn't pushed her, but she was growing frustrated.

She had decided not to go to Stacie behind Beca's back and wait for the tiny brunette to come around. But it hadn't happened, so she decided to be straightforward with the producer.

She was, again, waiting for her to come out of work in the coffee shop nearby. She was a bit nervous, since she didn't know how the brunette would react and she didn't want to push her away. But all her nerves seemed to vanish when said brunette came into the shop, with a bright smile and a single, white tulip in her hand.

"Hey babe" she said, taking a seat next to her and giving her a quick kiss in the lips. "I bought you this this morning. It was the only tulip at the shop I didn't think was lame." She explained, and Chloe swooned a bit over the gesture.

"Thank you Bec" she gave her a kiss on the lips and a bright smile. "It's beautiful. I love it."

"So, I was thinking. When does the film shooting start?"

"Next Wednesday, why?" the redhead asked, confused as to why she was thinking about that.

"Well, we would see each other even less, and I was thinking, if you wouldn't mind, of course, if maybe I could drive you and pick you up? It's not far from the studio and I can make my schedule around yours. I could even go have lunch with you, if you're free. You don't have to, of course, and I totally understand if you think it's not a good idea, I just thought it could be nice an-" she was rambling, and Chloe had to interrupt her, as cute as she was.

"Baby! Stop, of course I think that's a good idea. I'd like that very much. I'll give you a copy of my schedule later." The redhead said, loving the idea and swooning once again. "I do need to talk to you about something, though." She added, with a serious expression.

"Okay… that can't be good. Did I do something?" Chloe chuckled.

"Of course not." She said, taking Beca's hand. "Please listen to me and don't try to change the subjet." Beca nodded. "Look, we've been… dating for almost a month now, and we spent a lot of time together, and I have a lot of fun with you but…"

"Dammit! Fuck!" Beca said, lowering her gaze with tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "It's okay. Don't say it. I get it and it'll only hurt more if you say it."

"What are you talking about? Beca! I told you to listen to me." The brunette finally look up, definitely crying by now, and looked the ginger in the eye. "As I was saying, we have a lot of fun, and I like you so much, but it's killing me not being able to call you my girlfriend. It's utterly ridiculous, Beca. We do everything girlfriends do, and we've been exclusive since the very beginning. So will you please, please be my girlfriend."

Beca was at loss of words. This was not what she expected. She thought the redhead was dumping her, not asking her to be her girlfriend. But the thought scared her. This would be her first girlfriend, and she didn't know a thing about it.

"Chloe, I… I don't know" She said defeated. "I don't know anything, really. I'm 25 and I've never had a girlfriend. I don't know what to do, or how to act. Why would you want to be my girlfriend anyway? I thought you were dumping me, and it made so much more sense than this… I'm sorry, I probably should have never agreed to that first date in the first place…"

"Oh my god, not again. We're coming back to that later. But now I need you to understand that I'm so, so happy that you did agree to that date. And you're everything I thought you'd be and more. I honestly don't see me dumping you any time soon, so you can relax. And I understand if being my girlfriend is not something you're ready for. I'm okay with keeping things the way they are if you'll feel more comfortable, but I'd love for you to be my girlfriend." Chloe said, cupping the brunette's face and wiping the tears that were still spilling with her thumbs.

"I… uh… Look, there's nobody else in the world I would even consider calling my girlfriend. I'm just… scared, I guess, of failing you. I want to be everything you need from a partner, and I really don't think I can offer that right now. So… think about it, all right? I won't be mad if you change your mind, and I'll try and be better for you. But think about it." The brunette said, still looking her in the eyes.

"Oh, okay then! By the way, you remember when I said five minutes ago that we're practically girlfriends except we don't call each other that? So yeah, you're kind of my girlfriend already, and you're pretty good at that, believe me. Now will you please officially be my girlfriend?" the redhead said, smiling. She should have known this was exactly how it was gonna go down.

"But… Chlo, we don't exactly do… _everything_ girlfriends do." The redhead gave her a confused look and the brunette sighed. "Okay. I'm just going to say it. We don't have… _sex_." She explained, blushing and putting her head down again. "And I don't think I can give you that right now. And you deserve everything and more and I can't give that to you an-" she was interrupted by the sound of the redhead's laugh and when she finally looked up, with hurt written all over her face, Chloe immediately sobered up and moved to hug her.

"Sorry, baby, that was a dick move. I wasn't laughing at you though, I swear. But it's ridiculous what you're saying." She said rubbing circles in her back. "I know you're not ready for that. I figured as much. And I'm not going to hurry you. It's not important. We're not going to do anything you don't want to, okay?" The brunette pulled back from the hug at that and looked at her with a serious expression.

"Yeah, since we're in the topic, I'm also a virgin…" Chloe was truly surprised at that. She knew Beca had never had any relationship before, but she figured she would have had sexual experiences.

"All right. Then we'll make our first time together even more perfect, when that time comes, and I'll be as gentle as anyone can be. It still doesn't change anything. Can I ask why, though? You're very attractive, you wouldn't have any problem to have sex if you wanted to." Beca let out a breathy laugh.

"Yeah, right. I still don't know how you find me attractive, but whatever. And yeah, there have been people who… have shown an interest. But I wasn't comfortable with that. I mean, physical contact is something difficult with me, and they clearly just wanted to… I don't know, I felt like I was just a piece of meat they'd use and then dump. That's not… something I'm looking forward to." She finished with a sour laugh.

"I understand. And it's okay. All of that is okay. So please, be my girlfriend?" the redhead pleaded. Beca looked at her for a long minute before answering.

"Okay…"

"Okay?!" Chloe said, a smile already stretching her face.

"Yeah, okay Beale. If you're sure, I'd have to be stupid to turn you down." Chloe launched herself at the brunette, straddling her lap and pulling her into a bone crushing hug, squealing. "All right babe, please loosen your grip, I can't breathe." Chloe pulled back a little only to kiss her passionately. They kissed until they needed air, and Chloe went back to her seat.

"Okay, this is too public for all that, and we need to talk some more. Wanna go back to mine?" Chloe said, holding Beca's hand.

"Sure, my car's in the label's parking, come on, I'll drive us"

/

"Okay! What did you want to talk about, _girlfriend_?" Beca said, getting comfortable in Chloe's couch, and Chloe beamed, sitting down in her lap.

"That sounds so good" She said before giving her a peck on the lips. "Well, I've been stalling on the whole press conference thing because we only go to private-ish places and I don't get so much media attention, but now you're my girlfriend, so I'm doing it in a couple of days, if you're still okay with that"

"Sure. Was that all?"

"No." Chloe took a deep breath to prepare herself for what she had to say. "So, I know you're a private person, and I respect that, but… I was wondering if maybe you could start opening up to me a little? I mean, if and when you're ready. It just kills me sometimes that you don't see how amazing you are, Bec, and I really want to help you. But I can't if you won't talk to me." Beca sighed and wrapped her arms around the redhead's waist, pulling her closer.

"You're right. I owe you that much… So, wanna hear about your in-laws?" Beca said with a sad smile.

"Whatever you want to tell me about is fine, Beca." She said, planting a kiss on top of her head.

"Okay so… I really loved my dad. But she left me and my mom when I was four. I never saw him again until he made me go to college, when I was eighteen, claiming that music wasn't a real career and that I needed to have realistic goals. We never really reconnected. Last time I saw him was in my graduation, we never talked again and he's nothing to me." Chloe listened with a sad expression, noticing how much pain the subject brought to her girlfriend even though she claimed the man meant nothing. "My mom… is a more difficult matter. I don't want to get into it… yet. All you need to know is that she mistreated me and I haven't talked to her in six years, and I'm not planning on it. She tried to contact me a few times over the first year of college but I never answered. I'm sorry, I know this is vague, but it's not an easy subject."

"It's okay baby, thank you for telling me all that." Chloe said stroking her hair. "You know I'd never leave you like that, right? I'd never just cut you off of my life, even if we end up not working."

"I know Chlo" She said nuzzling her face on Chloe's neck.

"Okay! Enough serious talks for a day, let's have fun!" Chloe said getting up from Beca's lap and going to the fridge to get some drinks.

They spent the whole day in Chloe's apartment, watching TV, playing games or just talking, and Beca ended up spending the night.

They were woken up at 6:30 by Chloe's ringtone. She checked the ID and answered, while Beca mumbled and turned away to keep sleeping.

"Hey Bree, why are you calling so early?" She said sleepily.

"Hey Chlo, sorry to wake you, but this is important. Just google your name, okay? And stay calm. I'll be up in fifteen minutes."

"Okay… see you." Choe hung up, really confused, and googled her name in her phone. Her eyes widened with what she saw and she turned to wake Beca up. "Beca! Baby wake up, this is important." She said shaking her girlfriend.

"Mmm-kay, I'm up, what's going on?" Chloe put the phone right in her face and her mouth hung open at the sight of a picture of Chloe and her kissing in the coffee shop yesterday. "But… how? We've been there so many times, and they've never seen us."

"I know, I'm so, so sorry Beca. I should have made that press conference weeks ago. This is all my fault…" Chloe said, in the verge of tears.

"Hey, this is not your fault Chlo, besides, it's not that bad. You can't recognise me unless you know me, so it's all right. I do need to ask you to hurry up with the whole threatening the media thing though…"

"Yes. I'll see if I can do it today. I'm really sorry again." They were interrupted by the doorbell. "That's Aubrey, let's go, she probably already has a plan to do damage control." The both got out of bed and went to open the door.

"Beca, you're here, perfect. Take a seat." Aubrey said, storming into the apartment. "Okay, since apparently you two can't keep it in your pants in public, we have to work against the clock." She said, taking out some papers. "Read this. I already sent it to the main gossip magazines and TV networks, so your opinion won't matter, but you should know what it says." The two looked over it and nodded. "And now, Chloe, you have a press conference in three hours, go get ready. I already wrote you a speech. It basically says that you're seeing somebody and that you want her privacy to be respected or else."

"Actually, she's my girlfriend now, so maybe we should change that." Chloe said with a happy smile and Aubrey said rolling her eyes.

"About time, but I don't see the difference, you just want to say the word girlfriend. But do whatever you want, just don't change any of the big words or it won't have the same judicial effect. Okay, I'll see you in an hour and a half and I'll take you to the press conference. Beca, do whatever you want, I don't care, but you're not coming. Bye." The blonde said and left the apartment.

"Wow. She's efficient. It's 7 AM, when the hell did she do all that work?" Beca said bemusedly.

"I don't know, she does thing like that sometimes, I've learned not to question it. I'm gonna get in the shower. Do you have time for breakfast? What time do you have to be in the studio?" Chloe said getting up from the couch.

"At 11, I have time. I'll make us breakfast. Do you prefer eggs or waffles?"

"Whatever you want is fine baby, I'll be there in 30 minutes."

Beca ended up cooking waffles, bacon and eggs. This whole thing had made her hungry, and Chloe appeared in the kitchen ready to go just as Beca was putting the food in plates.

"Hey, there's coffee in the pot. I'll be done in a minute" Beca told the redhead.

They ate breakfast making small talk until Aubrey came to fetch Chloe.

"Ready? We need to leave now."

"Yeah, let me get my things." She disappeared into her bedroom and came back a minute later. "Baby, come back here when you're done with work. Here, take this spare key and let yourself in if I'm not back yet." She said, handing a set of keys to Beca and kissing her quickly in the lips.

"You sure? You don't need to give me this, I could just wait until you get here."

"Yes, I'm sure. Lock the door when you leave for work, okay? See you later." She said, and with a final kiss, she left the apartment with Aubrey.

Beca got ready and left for work. When she got there, she saw she had two missed calls, one from Stacie and one from Benji, and she called them back to explain the situation.

The rest of the day went by as usual, and when she got to Chloe's the redhead wasn't there yet, so she made herself comfortable.

Thirty minutes later, the ginger came through the door and she took a seat next to Beca after giving her a kiss.

"Hey, you. How was work?"

"It was okay. How did the conference go?" She asked, putting an arm over the redhead's shoulders, who wrapped an arm around the brunette's waist.

"All right. Aubrey said we shouldn't worry about anyone publishing any more pictures of you."

They cooked some lunch and settled cuddled on the couch, talking about their days and giggling like idiots. They were interrupted by Beca's phone ringing, and she answered without looking at the ID and put it on speaker, assuming it was Benji or Stacie checking up on her.

"Hello?"

" _Rebecca. This is your father."_

Beca froze. She hadn't heard that voice in years and she wasn't expecting this.

"Wh- What do you want?" Chloe looked worriedly at her.

" _My students were gossiping about Chloe Beale's new girlfriend, so I took the magazine away. Imagine my surprise when I see my daughter on it, kissing a girl. I didn't know you were a lesbian."_

"It's none of you fucking business, dad. We haven't talked in years and I was happy about that. If that's all you have to say, I'm hanging up."

" _No, you're gonna listen to me. I'll have no dykes in my family, you hear me? You're ending that relationship and coming back home with me right now. I see you haven't made it to the music business and now you need a wealthy person to take care of you, but that's an unhealthy way to live your life, and you've brought enough shame to my name."_ Beca laughed bitterly at this and Chloe was fuming with anger. Who did that man think he was.

"Nah, dad, I'm good, you have no power over me anymore and what I do with my life is none of your business, as I said, so good bye. I'm changing my number, by the way, so don't bother trying to call me again." She said and she hung up. "Sorry you had to hear that, babe, I thought it would be Stacie or Benji, and I didn't want you to think I didn't trust you or anything, so I didn't turn off the speaker." She explained, hugging Chloe tight.

"Don't apologise Bec. Are you okay? That man really has no idea what he's talking about."

"Yeah, I'm all right. I mean, that wasn't exactly fun, but my father doesn't affect me anymore. I wasn't expecting him to be homophobic though." She said, smiling up at Chloe who smiled back.

"Well, as long as you're okay…" They were interrupted by Beca's phone ringing, this time it was Stacie.

"Hey Stace, what's up?"

" _Beca? My mom just called… Don't freak out, but apparently your mother went by our house asking if I was still in contact with you."_ Beca mumbled something like 'you've got to be fucking kidding me' and hid her face in her hands _"She apparently saw the magazine, and she's not that happy about it… My mom said she didn't know anything about you, you know she loves you like a daughter and she would never let that woman near you. But she wants to know if you would like to talk to her, you know, your decision…"_

"No I don't. I already had a nasty call from my father, I'll tell you about it later. But I don't want to know anything from that woman. I'll call your mother later to let her know. We haven't talked in a while and I miss her. Thanks for telling me Stace."

" _Okay, she'll be delighted to talk to you. She didn't want to call you in case you were at the studio. Bye Mitchy!"_

"Bye Stacie" She hung up and sighed loudly. "Unbelievable…"

"Baby? Do you want to talk about it? News from two paternal figures you haven't talked to in years is kinda big…" Chloe asked concerned.

"No, I want to forget about this. I talked about them yesterday and they both try to talk to me a day later. It's like black magic." She said, nuzzling her face on Chloe's neck. "I have to call Stacie's mom though, and it's probably going to be a long talk, since I haven't called her in months and she's probably going to ask about everything. I can go home, but I'd prefer to do that here so we can relax later together, if you don't mind?"

"Of course baby, you can go talk in my room, I'll be here watching TV" Chloe told her with a smile.

"Thanks babe, you're the best." She said before giving her a kiss and getting up. "I'll be right back"

"Okay! I'll miss you!" Beca rolled her eyes and tried to keep a smile away from her face.

"You're ridiculous."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! I'm back! Sorry for being absent the past few weeks, this month has been really busy for me. Hopefully now that I don't have as many things to do I'll be able to update once a week, at the very least. I'd like to thank all the reviewers for the kind words. You really do make my day, so thank you.   
> Two chapters this time. Hope you like them!

My Baby: _Morning beautiful. You start shooting in two days. Are you excited?_

Hot Ginger: _Morning babe. I am excited. But I'm not feeling well today. I think I'm going to have to cancel on our plans to meet up for lunch. I'm so sorry, I'll make it up to you. Have fun at work._

My Baby: _What? Are you okay? I can cancel work to take care of you._

Hot Ginger: _Don't worry, it's probably just a cold. Aubrey will come by later to look after me. I'll see you when I get better, I don't want you to get sick too._

My Baby: _Okay. Whatever you say. Talk to you later :)_

Chloe sighed and left her phone on the bed side table. She was really tired and her nose was runny. She didn't feel like doing anything at all, so she rolled over and fell asleep again.

She woke up thirty minutes later to some noise coming from somewhere in her apartment. She looked at the time in her phone and saw it was only 8:30, and knowing Aubrey wouldn't be out of work since later she got up to see what was going on.

She was greeted by the sight of her girlfriend cooking something in her kitchen.

"Baby? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?" She said, making her way over the kitchen and taking a seat in one of the stools.

"Yeah, sure, you must have been dreaming if you thought I wasn't going to come take care of my sick girlfriend" Beca said, making her way to Chloe and kissing her on the lips. Or trying to, since Chloe pulled away and pushed her.

"Do not kiss me Beca! I don't need you getting sick too, and you don't need to do this, I'm okay, I'm just feeling a little under the weather."

"Do you think I care?" Beca said, grabbing her face and planting a kiss on Chloe's lips. "I'll have you know I have a great immune system. I haven't gotten sick in over five years. And keep dreaming, Beale. I'm not going anywhere, so sit down while I make you breakfast."

Beca turned around and resumed cooking bacon, eggs and sausages.

"It's not the healthiest food, but I figured you'd need the proteins." She said, flipping the meat in the pan.

"Thanks Becs. It smells great. I still think you should go into work. Won't your bosses get mad?" the redhead said in a concerned tone.

"Nah, they've been trying to make me take some days off for a couple of months now. Everyone seems to be concerned that I have some sort of addiction to work." She said rolling her eyes.

"But what about Ed? Won't he want you to finish his album as soon as possible?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me? No, he loves days off, and he says he's never recorded an album in such little time. He told me to take good care of you, by the way. I'm still a little concerned he's going to try and steal you away from me. He is always asking about you." Beca said, rolling her eyes again.

"Aww, is someone jealous? You don't have to be baby, you're the best" Chloe said, smiling.

"I can play guitar better than him, anyways, that ginger's got nothing on me." Chloe laughed at that.

"No he doesn't." Chloe said, beaming. "So, when are you going to play something for me again?"

"What? The bagpipes weren't enough? Just so you know, that's the only instrument nobody has ever heard me play. Apart from you." Beca said, without looking up from the food she was cooking.

"Really? That sure makes me feel special. And it was great, but I kinda want to see you play more."

"All right, I'll bring my guitar with me next time I come over. But right now, you're going to lay on the couch while I finish breakfast. And give me Aubrey's number so I can call her and let her know she doesn't need to take care of you."

"So bossy. But are you sure? You can still go to work. I mean it. I know you love working, and Bree will be here in a couple of hours"

"So you _are_ trying to get rid of me. I'll stay unless you don't want me to. I already made all the calls I needed to in order to take the day off, and I told them that I might need to take tomorrow off as well. Right now I'm only concerned for you to be good on Wednesday, I know you love this new project. Now, let's get you comfortable." She said, pushing Chloe towards the living room and wrapping a blanket around her. "I'll be right back." She said pecking Chloe on the lips and leaving for the kitchen again.

The redhead sighed in contentment, not believing her luck to have found such a caring and loving person, and got comfortable in the couch.

Beca appeared ten minutes later with a trail with food in her hands and placed it on Chloe's legs.

"Now, I want you to eat everything on you plate while I call Aubrey. Got it? Where's your phone so I can get the number?"

"In my nightstand. Thank you Bec. I really appreciate this." Chloe said with a smile, getting started on her food.

"It's my job to take care of you now." The brunette said placing a kiss on her cheek. "I'll be right back. Eat." She said leaving the living room and heading towards the bedroom.

She came back five minutes later, both their phones in her hand, and went to the kitchen to get some food for herself before sitting down next to her girlfriend.

"Your best friend is a fucking nightmare. She said that she's coming by after work anyways. I don't think she trusts me with you." The redhead chuckled at that. It was so Aubrey.

"She probably doesn't trust anyone but herself with me. Don't take it personally."

They finished their breakfast in comfortable silence and Beca went back to the kitchen, only to come back seconds later with a Gatorade and cold medicine in her hands.

"Alright, here, swallow this." She said, giving her a spoonful of the medicine before offering her the drink. "And drink this when you're thirsty. Now I'm taking you to bed so you can have a nap." She said, putting her arms under her upper body and legs and lifting her up.

"Wow, I didn't expect you to be this strong. I can walk, though, you know?" The redhead said, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's neck.

"Some of my equipment is heavier than you, Beale. And I know you can work, I just don't want you to get tired." She said placing her in bed and tucking her in. She kissed her in the lips again and Chloe tried to pull back.

"Stop kissing me! You'll get sick!"

"I won't. Now sleep while I make you some chicken soup. Yell for me if you need anything". She said, and with a final kiss to Chloe's forehead she left the room.

Chloe sighed again and closed her eyes, feeling tired. She woke up a couple hours later feeling a bit better and went to look for Beca. She found her in the living room, looking intently at her laptop, probably mixing, and went to plop down next to hear.

"Hey babe, how are you feeling?" Beca asked, looking at her and putting her laptop on the coffee table.

"Better. What are you up to?" She wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck and climbed into her lap.

"Just trying to finish her songs, since I had nothing else to do. Do you need anything?" she answered, hugging the redhead at the waist and pulling her closer.

"Nope. I'm good. Do you want to keep working?"

"Not at all." She said planting a kiss on her cheek. "There's soup if you're hungry. Just tell me and I'll bring it to you."

"I'm all right. I'm a bit worried I'll look like shit on Wednesday, though. They won't start shooting if the lead actress is looking like a ghost, and I don't want to be a burden. I'm really lucky I got this part. This movie is going to be huge"

"They're lucky you want to work with them. And you look great, even right now, if you ask me. Those suckers should be thankful to even have such beauty on their film." Chloe smiled fondly at her girlfriend.

"You don't know what you're saying Bec. I look terrible. I didn't want you to see me like this, but you had to come take care of me, didn't you?" She said teasingly.

"I'm glad I did. I can't think of a better way to spend my day." She said, looking up at her lovingly.

"You're just too perfect." Chloe said, snugging into Beca's body.

They stayed like that for a while until the front door opened and a blonde made an appearance in the living room.

"Hey Chlo, are you okay? Is the midget taking care of you? You look terrible. I'll make you some soup." Aubrey rushed out as soon as she saw her friend, and Beca rolled her eyes.

"Wow, thanks Bree, Beca told me I looked beautiful and I was starting to believe her. I really appreciate the reality check. And yes, she's taking good care of me. She already made me some chicken soup, and she bought me cold medicine and Gatorade. You don't need to worry about anything." The redhead said, snuggling closer to her girlfriend's body.

"Really? Okay. That's good. Good job Beca. Okay, I'll be on my way then, I still have some work to do. Call me if you need anything." She said, before giving the redhead a hug and throwing a smile on Beca's way.

"She really is lovely, isn't she?" Beca said, rolling her eyes, and Chloe laughed.

"She actually is. just really straight forward. But you can count on her always telling you the truth."

They spent the whole day cuddling in the couch, Beca feeding Chloe some soup when she deemed necessary and just enjoying each other's company. They went to sleep together feeling content and Beca sent Ed a text telling him they wouldn't be working the following day. Regardless of how her girlfriend was feeling, she thought she should spend the last day before the shooting of the film started with the redhead.

/

They woke up at six AM to Chloe's phone ringing and the redhead answered it.

"Yes? For Christ's sake Bree, do you know what time it is?...Yeah I'm feeling better… You really don't need t-… Okay Bree, see you in a few." Chloe finished the call with a heavy sigh and rolled to face her girlfriend.

"What did that demon want now? Doesn't she sleep?" The brunette whined, hiding her face on Chloe's neck.

"She said she wanted to check up on me before she went to work. I don't think she's aware that the rest of the world likes to sleep until 7, at least." The ginger said, placing a kiss on top of Beca's head. "I'm going to get up. You can keep sleeping."

"I only sleep well with you, to be honest. Come on, I'll cook some breakfast." They disentangled from each other and made their way to the kitchen just in time for Aubrey to come through the door.

"Morning, girls! You do look better Chloe. You sure you don't need anything?"

"Yes, Aubrey, I'm sure. I'm completely okay today, you can both go to work. I'll be okay on my own."

"Um… actually… I texted Ed yesterday and I told him we weren't working today. I was hoping to spend the day with you, if you don't mind, that is…" Beca said, starting to mix the ingredients to cook pancakes, without looking up to Chloe's face.

"Baby, are you sure? You already missed yesterday. You really don't need to do this."

"Yeah, I know, I just figured… you know… you'll be busy with the shooting the next couple of months so… I kinda wanted to spend today with you… if that's okay…" Beca said, still not looking up and blushing by the second.

"Of course that's okay." Chloe said, beaming, and went to hug the brunette from behind. "You staying for breakfast Bree? Beca's a pro in the kitchen."

"Yeah, sure, I'll stay." The blonde answered, sitting down in one of the kitchen stools to watch them cook. Or to be more accurate, to watch Beca cook while Chloe got in the way.

"Actually, baby, why don't you text Stacie and Benji to come for breakfast? I feel like I'm taking you away from them with all the time you're spending with me."

"They'd actually love that. Do you mind if I tell Benji to bring Em too? And don't worry, you're not taking me away from them. If you hadn't noticed, I'm kind of a loner. Or was, before you. The point is, we went without seeing each other for days, until they broke into my apartment to check if I was actually alive." Chloe laughed at this.

"Sure, tell him to bring Emily, I liked the girl. Go tell them while I mix all this, I think I can at least manage that." The ginger said, pushing Beca away from the kitchen, until the two friends were left alone.

"So… you two look really happy. She's treating you right, isn't she? I'm kinda regretting not having the talk with her." The blonde said, looking at her smiling best friend.

"She is. Nobody has ever treated me as well as she has. I mean, you've seen it, Bree. She called off work just to take care of me even though I told her I was okay, and today again, just to spend time together. She does little things for me and she cares so much… I really couldn't ask for more." Chloe finished with a soft smile, and Aubrey smiled back at her.

"Yeah, I must say I'm surprised. And I'm really glad you found her. You look a lot happier since you two got together."

Beca came back to the kitchen holding her phone right then.

"Hey, they said they'll be here in half an hour. The three of them are coming. Stacie is actually thrilled. She's probably going to be insufferable. Now, move. I'm going to make you the best pancakes." She said, pushing Chloe towards one of the stools and starting to cook the pancakes.

About half an hour later, the doorbell rang and Chloe went to open it, to find three brunettes smiling at her. She let them in, returning the smile, and Emily pulled her in a hug.

"Hey guys. Beca's just finishing cooking, make yourselves comfortable."

"Thanks for inviting us, Chlo, we like to check up on the little bit once in a while and we haven't seen her for weeks. She's really bad at staying in touch." Stacie said, making her way to the kitchen with Benji and Emily following hand in hand.

"Hey Becs! Hey Aubrey! How are you doing?" Benji said, as Emily jumped to hug both Beca and Aubrey.

"Jesus! Hey Em, I can see you're excited. I'm good Benji." Beca answered once Emily let go of her.

"I hate it when I go more than a week without seeing you." The younger brunette pouted, returning to Benji's side. "How are you really? Stacie told me about your parents. Are you actually okay? You know you can tell us right?" She rushed out, and Beca chuckled. She loved how enthusiastic and caring Emily was about everything.

"I'm fine, you know I haven't thought about either of them in years. This changes nothing. Now, take a seat, breakfast is ready." She said, and they all sat down on the dining table.

They ate their breakfast and they were making conversation when the doorbell interrupted them and they all looked at each other.

"That's weird, I wasn't expecting anyone… Did you text anyone else baby?" The redhead asked and Beca shook her head. "Okay, I'll get it." She got up from the table and went to open the door to find a middle aged brunette she didn't recognise.

"Good, it's you. I'm looking for my daughter. I understand you're her girlfriend?"


	9. Chapter 9

"Good, it's you. I'm looking for my daughter. I understand you're her girlfriend?"

Chloe tensed Immediately, realising who this woman was. She knew Beca didn't want to see her, so she did the best she could to get rid of her.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are and this is my private residence, so I'd really appreciate it if you left right now."

"I'm Judy Mitchell, Beca's mother. Now, if you could tell me where to find her it would make things a lot easier."

Chloe was about to tell her that she was calling the cops if she didn't leave when she heard a voice behind her.

"Babe, who is it?" Beca froze at the sight of the woman in the doorstep. That was the last person she expected to see.

"Beca. I've been trying to find you. I even had to talk to your father. Don't you dare do that to me ever again." The woman said.

"How the fuck did you find Chloe's house? I'm calling the cops. I knew you were a terrible person, but I never pegged for a stalker." Beca said, with a serious face while taking her phone out of her pocket.

"No need for that, honey. I just had to bribe a journalist. She's famous, if you hadn't noticed. Now, I just want to talk to you." The woman said in a sweet tone.

"How fucking dare you? I want you to leave. Right now. And I don't want you near Chloe again, do you hear me? I'll put a restraining order against you if I need to. We're not talking. Not now. Not ever. I don't know what brought you to do this now, but I don't give a damn."

"Becs? I heard shouting, is everything okay?" Stacie said from behind her, and the girls turned around just to see her features turning into an angry expression. "You. I don't know what you think you're doing here, or how you got here. But I'm giving you ten seconds, starting now, until I beat you up."

"I see, so even Stacie's mother lies for you now. Okay, I'll leave. But don't think this is over. I'm your mother, and we're going to talk. Good bye." Judy said before turning to leave, leaving two angry brunettes and a confused redhead behind.

"Beca? What was that? Are you okay?" The actress said, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend.

"Fuck. Shit. What is she doing here?" Beca said, starting to sob on the ginger's shoulder.

"Beca? It's okay. I'm not going to let her anywhere near you, and neither will Benji. You're okay." Stacie said, rubbing circles on her friend's back.

"I have to go find her." Beca said, pulling back from the redhead's body and reaching for the doorknob. "I can't have her following me or asking around. If she finds out who I am, professionally, she's probably going to tell the world." She said before storming out of the apartment.

"Beca!" Both Stacie and Chloe yelled and looked at each other.

"Chloe, I'm gonna go with her. She's not stable when she's around her mom. Can you please tell Benji and Emily what just happened?" Stacie said with a serious expression.

"No! I'm going with you. She's suffering. I could see it." The redhead argued.

"I don't think that's a good idea… Did Beca tell you the whole story?" The redhead shook her head. "Then you need to wait here. I'll be back with her and I'll make sure she tells you. She would never forgive me if I let you be exposed to that woman, anyways. Please?" Stacie pleaded.

"Okay. Text me as soon as you find Beca and also when you are coming back to the apartment. I'll be waiting." Stacie nodded and left the apartment and Chloe went to tell the other what had happened.

/

Stacie found Beca a few feet away from the apartment, having a staring contest with her mother, and she rushed to them.

"Beca. You shouldn't do this alone. We're going to the coffee shop in the corner and we'll have a conversation there, okay?" Beca turned to look at Stacie and nodded. That look was enough to worry the taller brunette. She hadn't seen so much pain in her eyes since they left for college, and she put a comforting arm around her shoulders and started walking towards the coffee shop, not even bothering to check if the other woman was following them.

Stacie sent a quick text to Chloe to let her know that she had found the DJ as they took a seat in one of the booths and looked up to Beca's mom.

"Judy. You need to explain what you're doing here. Now." She spited out with all the disdain she could muster, while Beca just seemed to shrink down next to her.

"I don't think I need a reason to want to see my daughter, Stacie, and I don't know what you're doing here. This should be between us." Judy answered calmly.

"You know perfectly well why I'm here. Now. Explain."

"Okay. Beca, honey, I know I hurt you all those years ago. That's why I haven't tried to contact you. I was giving you space. But you know I love you. I only want what's best for you. And you know nobody is ever going to love you as much as I do. You need to stop playing victim here and talk to me again."

Stacie looked at Beca and saw her growing smaller and smaller every second that passed. Her eyes started filling with tears and she looked at her hands. Stacie had never seen firsthand what Judy did to her friend, but she had seen the aftermath, and she knew she needed to stop this, so she leaned to whisper in Beca's ear.

"Beca. You know that's not true. She's done this so many times to you. Don't believe a word she says, okay?" She saw her friend slightly nod and she gave her a small smile. "Now talk to her so she leaves you alone." Beca straightened up and looked at her mother.

"I don't know what you want, but I wish you just told me." The tiny brunette said with a small voice. "I don't want you in my life. I know I'm your only daughter and whatever. But I really just want to forget you exist." She finished, still not looking up.

"Really? After all I've given you? I've fed you and put a roof over your head for years. You're just an ungrateful kid. You owe me some respect, Beca. I don't know what you think you're doing here, but you know perfectly well that you're nothing without me. Do you even have a job? Your father told me how you had to find a rich girlfriend to look after you. But that's not going to last, Beca. Nobody wants a useless unemployed person as a partner. And when you're left with nothing, you'll have to come crying back to me. I'm just looking out for you. Saving you the heartbreak." Beca just shook her head and started crying harder. "Stop crying! You always do this. I can never talk to you without you crying. Speak up!"

"Mother… you need to leave. For good. I'm never going back to you. I don't need you." She said between sobs, and when she calmed down, she finally looked up, first at Stacie, to find reassurance, and then to her mom. "I need you to understand, right here and right now, that I don't love you, I haven' for years. And that probably makes me a bad person, because no good person feels no love for her parents, but that's how it is, that's what you raised me to be." She took a deep breath before continuing. "You have no right to know absolutely anything about my life, and I won't tell you. But I'll have you know that I don't need you, or Chloe, or anyone, to survive. Now I'm going to ask you to leave the state and never come back. I'm filing a restraining order against you. I don't want you near me or Chloe, and if I ever see you, I'll make sure you'll regret it."

Judy looked at her open mouthed before changing her expression to one of pure hatred.

"I'll leave, but you're no daughter of mine anymore. You have no family and nobody will ever love you. You're a bad person, you always have been and always will be, despite my best efforts. I'll leave you alone forever, but I don't want to see you again. Ever." She shook her head and stood up to leave. "I didn't raise you to be this way. You're a cold person who can't care about others, and you'll get what you deserve eventually." With that, she left the coffee shop and Beca broke down as Stacie held her.

When she calmed down, she stood up to leave without a word and Stacie followed her.

"Becs, I promised Chloe I'd bring you back to her apartment when you were done here. You owe her an explanation. You can talk to me before we go, but I'm not going to let you be alone after that." Beca just sighed, defeated, and sat back down.

"Do you think it's true?" She said in a small voice and Stacie gave her a confused look. "You know, what she said about me being a bad person who couldn't care about others…" Stacie looked sadly at her.

"Beca, look at me." The tiny brunette did as she was told, with tears in her eyes. "What did you do yesterday?" she didn't get an answer, so she continued. "You dropped everything to take care of your sick girlfriend. You've done that for me, Benji, Emily and Luke countless times over the years. You're a caring and sensitive person. I thank the gods every day that you turned out like that with the parental figures you have. None of what that woman said was true, and you know that." The brunette nodded and looked at her friend.

"Do you have your car here?" Stacie nodded. "Do you think you could take me to Luke's before going back to Chloe's? I haven't seen him in forever, and I think I need him right now." Stacie nodded, knowing that her best friend had a special place in her heart for the Brit. He was the first person she opened up to willingly and he had always treated her like family.

/

Thirty minutes later, they were on Luke's doorstep waiting for him to open the door. When he did, a wide smile stretched his face and he pulled Beca into a bear hug.

"Becky! I've missed you so much. You haven't come by the truck in ages!" The brunette chuckled lightly against his chest, and when he pulled back he saw the tear tracks on her face and his expression turned serious. "Beca what happened? Come in, both of you." He said letting them in.

"Actually, I'm going to call Benji and Chloe to tell them where we are. Call me when you want me to pick you up Becs, I'll be nearby." Stacie said, and Beca nodded, making her way to the Brit's apartment.

Luke waved the taller brunette goodbye and took a seat in the couch next to Beca, waiting for her to speak up.

"So… My mother found me. She appeared on Chloe's apartment this morning wanting to talk." Beca finally said after a few minutes of silence. Luke widened his eyes, growing extremely concerned for his friend.

"What happened Beca?"

"Nothing… I talked to her, so she wouldn't snoop into my business, and she said some nasty things to me… I basically told her to fuck off and she left. I really wanted to talk to you… because I know you'll tell me the truth." She said looking him in the eye and he nodded. "So… she said some things about me being a bad person and that I didn't care about other people… and Stacie already made me see that that's not true… But there is some truth to those words… I'm a loner, and it's not that I don't care, but sometimes I forget to check on people, and to be there for them, and I hate myself for it, I just can't seem to change that. And I just really need to know if you think I should just leave Chloe…" Luke's eyes widened.

"Beca what are you talking about? You're happy with her!"

"Yeah. But I want her to be happy too. And I don't know if I can make her happy. She deserves better than me. She deserves somebody to take care of her every day of the year, and I don't know if I can do that. I mean, it's one of the reasons why I haven't had a relationship in years, and now that I have one, I don't think I can be good enough."

"Beca, you don't need to check up on us every day for us to know that you care. You're always there when it matters. I know you enjoy your time alone and I really respect that. As for Chloe, we haven't talked since your first date, but Beca, you looked at her like the sun shined out of her arse, I don't believe you went a single day without asking her how she was. Am I wrong?" Beca shook her head. "There you go. That's all you need to know. You care. About everyone around you. In fact, I don't know anybody who cares as much as you do. You've been there for me so many times in these few years… and for that, I'll never be able to repay you. I love you Becky." He finished, pulling her into an embrace and she chuckled.

"Do not call me that, asshole."

They stayed in the hug for a few more moments and when they pulled apart, they were both smiling softly.

"You know I love you, right?" The brunette nodded. "And I feel incredibly lucky and special that you decided to let me in. We're family, and I will always be here." The brunette nodded again and gave him a quick hug.

"I think I need to go talk to Chloe, but we'll talk soon, yeah? I want you to have dinner with me and Chloe, so you can properly meet."

"All right. Do you want me to drive you there or do you want to call Stacie?"

"Don't worry, Stacie will drive me, she said she would be near anyways. Thank you Luke, seriously. Stacie and Benji are the best, but they are always trying to protect me. I really needed to hear all that from you." She said before pulling out her phone to text Stacie.

Fifteen minutes later, the two brunettes were on their way to Chloe's and Beca was fidgeting in the passenger seat.

"Becs? Are you nervous about telling Chloe?" The brunette gave a small nod. "Look I know I said you owe her an explanation, but you don't need to tell her anything you're not ready for."

"No, I think I should tell her. If I don't, I probably never will. Besides, my crazy mother appeared on the fucking doorstep, she needs to know the whole story. Besides, I'm going to need Aubrey's help with the restraining order."

"Oh, so you were serious about that." The taller brunette said surprised.

"Of course I was serious, Stacie. She appeared on my girlfriend's doorstep! And she bribed a journalist to get her address. She's not stable, we've always known this, but today was just too much."

Stacie parked in front of Chloe's apartment building and they both got out of the car. When they got there, Benji and Emily were still waiting for her, sitting with Chloe in the living room watching TV without really paying attention.

"Hey guys." Beca waved and took a seat next to Chloe. "You didn't need to stay. Shouldn't you two be at work?"

"We both called to say we were going to be late. What happened Becs? I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I didn't realise what had happened until Chloe came to tell us." Benji said with a guilty expression.

"Don't worry, everything is okay now, Stacie can fill you in. Do you think you could leave me alone with Chloe so we can talk?" The two of them nodded and got up.

"Call us if you need anything, okay?" Emily said, and after the three of them hugged Beca goodbye, they left the apartment leaving the two girls alone.

"Baby? Are you sure you're okay? You don't need to tell me anything you're not ready for." The redhead said, noticing Beca's nervous demeanour.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I went to talk with Luke and I feel a lot better now. And I really want to tell you. You deserve to know. I just don't really like to talk about it, but it has to happen sometime." The redhead nodded and turned to face her. "So, my mom was never exactly a loving mother. But when my dad left, things got bad. She blamed me. She verbally abused me for years. I really don't want to get into detail of the things she said, because they don't really matter anymore. It took me really long to realise that. I honestly thought we had a normal mother-daughter relationship." She chuckled sadly. "I was depressed for years, but I didn't know why. My mom insisted that it was me trying to be a victim. The only people I would talk to were Stacie and Benji, and eventually Stacie's parents, who let me stay with them when things at home were too unbearable. People at school thought I was weird and they bullied me. Never when I was with my friends, but they'd hit me and call me names every time I was alone" She sighed.

"When I was 17, I was in antidepressants and sleeping pills. I tried to kill myself. I swallowed all the pills I had. Joke was on me, because they weren't enough to kill me, just to make me feel like shit. I don't remember anything from the following three days. Stacie told me that on the second day, she was concerned because I wasn't going to school or answering her texts, so she and Benji went to my house. My mother apparently told them I had swallowed a bunch of pills trying to call for attention and that I was sleeping it off. They freaked. She hadn't even taken me to the hospital, just left me in my room." Chloe had tears in her eyes and she was gripping tightly her girlfriend's hand.

"After that, Stacie refused to let me live with my mother. She told her parents what had happened and they said I was staying with them until I left for LA to be a music producer. It was good for a month. I got a little better, and for some reason, I decided that the best thing to do was going back to my mother. The months left until graduation were the worst. Eventually, my father forced me to go to college, so I left my mom and I never saw her again. Until today." Beca finished, feeling already better that her girlfriend knew.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through all that." She said pulling her into a hug. "What happened today though?"

"Nothing. She wanted to talk. I told her to fuck off and that I would put a restraining order against her. She said she didn't want to see me again and said some nasty things. I was a wreck for a while, but Stacie and Luke helped me and I'm okay now. Don't worry. She doesn't affect me like she did. I will need Aubrey's help with the restraining order, and it's up to you, but I'd feel better if you filed one too."

"Yeah, okay, we'll talk to Aubrey as soon as she gets back, she had to leave for work but she said she was coming back right after work." She chuckled. "She was fuming, she was already thinking of ways to put the woman in jail. She said she was a dangerous sociopath." Beca laughed too. "She's not going to do anything though, she's just really protective over me and freaked out knowing that it was that easy to find out where I live."

"I'm really sorry that happened, by the way. You should have never been involved in any of this. I really didn't think this was even a possibility."

"Don't worry, it's not your fault." The redhead said in a calming tone while playing with her hair.

"By the way, I promised Luke we'd have dinner with him. Is that okay with you?"

"Of course baby, whenever you want. Things may get a little hectic after today, but we'll find the time." She answered with a smile.

"Cool." The brunette said before kissing her. "Now, I feel like I need to ask you something, and I want you to answer honestly." Chloe became serious and nodded. "Are you happy? I mean… are you happy with me? As in… do I make you happy?" Beca rambled.

"Of course you do baby, I wouldn't be with you if you didn't. Why?" Chloe answered with a smile.

"Just needed to know. You make me really happy too, by the way." She said smiling. "So… it's almost time for lunch, wanna go out with me? I'll treat you." The redhead kissed her on the lips and jumped from the couch.

"Yay! Let me get my purse and we can go." She said before disappearing into the bedroom.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Sooo I haven't updated in a long while, but I'm hoping to make more frequent updates from now on. I'll leave you with two chapters this time since I'm hoping to catch up with FanFiction's updates (and I know I'm terrible for not updating when this is already written. It kinda slips my mind like, aaaall the time).   
> So! many thanks to readers and reviewers, you are truly great!

One week into the shooting of the film, Chloe was utterly frustrated. She loved her part, most of the crew were really nice, and she had spent every night with her girlfriend. But her co-star's attitude was enough to ruin it for her. He was loud and obnoxious, he thought he was the best person to ever step on the face of the planet, and he was convinced Chloe was just playing hard to get, so he just kept hitting on her.

When she got into her girlfriend's car that evening after work, Beca could see that the ginger was close to her breaking point.

"Hey babe. Was Bumper a dick again?" She said with a sympathetic smile.

"When is he not?" The redhead answered with a groan. "We had to repeat a scene about ten times because he kept staring at my cleavage, and ten minutes ago, when I was about to leave, he came to me and told me that we should be together. Because he says that the two hottest people in the planet should never settle for anything else. I can't even…" the ginger started rambling and the brunette frowned.

"That hitting on you thing has gone on for too long, Chlo. Please let me come to the shooting tomorrow so I can talk to him. I am intimidating, you know?"

"Sure you are baby. You can come, just don't cause a scene, okay? You know whatever he says I only have eyes for you." Chloe said reaching through the console to hold Beca's hand.

"Whatever. I don't want him bothering you. Do you want to go for dinner somewhere or order in? Or we can stop for groceries so I can cook for you. Whatever you want."

"Can we just order in? I just want to cuddle with you for as long as I can." She answered with a sigh.

"Of course." She said pulling into the garage of her building. They arrived at the apartment and they both headed straight for the couch, Beca pulling out her phone. "Mexican?"

"Mexican sounds great." The redhead said, snuggling in her girlfriend's chest and closing her eyes.

/

Beca was on her way to meet Chloe at work with lunch. She had texted her to ask her if it was okay if Fat Amy tagged along, and she had said it was no problem. She had told her about bumper and the Aussie had insisted in coming along with her, claiming she could take the obnoxious man down if necessary. Beca knew better than to argue with her. They had been working together for 3 years already, and they got along really well.

"We're on a mission, shortstack. I'm not leaving until that Bumper lad is crying his eyes out. Did I tell you about that time I made three crocodiles cry?"

"Amy, crocodiles cry all the time. It's their way to keep their eyes hydrated."

"These were sad tears, Beca. I lowered their self-esteem and they started crying. Don't doubt my abilities".

"If you say so… We're here. Please behave. I don't want to get banned from the studio."

"When do I not behave? Let's go." She said getting out of the car and Beca hurried to follow.

When they got inside, they were on the middle of a scene, and bumper was, indeed, shamelessly looking at Chloe's chest. Beca felt her blood boil and Amy put a hand on her shoulder.

"Cut!" The director yelled. "Bumper, if I see you looking at Chloe's chest again we're recasting your character, got it?" he said, clearly angry, and turned to look at the new two arrivals. "And who the fuck are you?"

"Oh, they're with me Donald. That's Beca, my girlfriend, and her friend Amy."

"Fat Amy." The blonde chipped in. "Nice to finally meet you, ginger. Beca talks about you a lot. Now. Where did the dipshit go to? I wanna have a word with him." She said, looking around.

"You're not having a word with him. I am, now sit down and eat lunch" Beca said exasperated, but it was too late, because her friend had already spotted the man and was heading towards him.

"Oi! Fuckwit! Wait right there, you and I are going to talk." Bumper looked genuinely scared, and Beca turned to look apologetically at Chloe, who was amusedly watching the scene. "Now, I'm going to ask you to treat the ginger lady with respect. She might be Satan's spawn, but we can't all be perfect. Also, I'll have you know if you weren't dumb as a box of rocks, I might consider making you one of my boyfriends. But you lost your chance. Sorry."

"Amy that's enough!" Beca said pulling the blonde away and turned to look at the director. "I'm so sorry, I never meant for that to happen." The director just chuckled and shrugged.

"That's okay, he had it coming. Did you hear all that Bumper? I hope you took it seriously, because I'm going to ask that nice lady for her number, and if you behave like a 'fuckwit' again I'll give her a call and let her take care of you." Bumper nodded and turned away to leave, but Beca put a hand on his shoulder.

"That woman you've been asking out for a week is my girlfriend, so if you could maybe… lay off, I'd really appreciate it. Now, I know I'm not as big as Amy, but I'm a lot more dangerous, so try not to get on my bad side, okay?" She said in a low voice, making sure only Bumper could hear her, and he looked at her properly scared now. He nodded rapidly and finally left.

"What did you tell him?" The redhead said, hugging her from behind.

"Nothing, I was just setting some boundaries." Beca said turning around and smiling. "Now that that's over, I brought you lunch, let's eat." They both went to sit on a table, along with Fat Amy, and started eating.

"So, Red. How is it, having Shortstack as a girlfriend? She's a nightmare to work with, let me tell you. I think she'd love slavery being restored." Chloe laughed at that.

"Everybody keeps saying that. She's a great girlfriend though. How about you? Got a boyfriend or girlfriend?"

"Well, I don't like to practise the lady loving myself, but I have several boyfriends." She said casually, and Chloe looked at her confusedly. She was about to ask when Beca interrupted.

"Please don't ask her. She'll tell you all the nasty details. Just know she's weird and she says and does weird things. Don't question it."

"You're no fun, Beca. The details are the best part." The Aussie said.

They ate lunch laughing at Amy's outrageous stories, and when they finished, the two producers went to say goodbye to Donald.

"Hey, we'll leave you to work now, have fun!" Beca said, waving.

"Oh, no, actually, if you don't have to get back to your jobs, you could stay. I'm letting Chloe leave early today, in like an hour." Donald offered with a warm smile and Chloe beamed at the new information.

"Well… I have the rest of the day off, and so does Amy, so that'd be cool, I mean, if Chloe wants. I totally don't want to intrude in your professional life, I understand. We can leave, we'll go have a coffee, and we'll just co-"

"Bec!" Chloe cut off Beca's ramble, because it was getting out of hand. "Please stay, you're not intruding. I swear to God, you're so cute, but so stupid. Take a seat and shut up." She said firmly, but smiling, so Beca knew she wasn't actually angry. She leaned in to peck the brunette's lips and left to prepare for the next scene.

"You're a mess, shortstack. Why she likes you I do not understand."

"Shut up Amy, you're supposed to be my friend." The DJ huffed crossing her arms.

/

When the redhead was done from work, they decided to go for coffee somewhere. During the car ride, the couple had to endure the endless teasing from Fat Amy.

"Hey, Scissor Sisters, have you ever don-"

"Okay Amy, enough. Jesus. Now stay quiet for a minute, I need to talk to Chloe about something." Beca said before turning to the redhead. "So, I know we were going on a date this Saturday, but…" Chloe's face fell a little, thinking she was cancelling their plans. "No, no, that's your sad face, don't do that. I was gonna say, I was offered to DJ in a club. I know that's not what we had planned, but I was thinking maybe you would want to come? I'm not going to work all night, only for about two hours, and I can easily get you and Aubrey VIP passes, and Stace, Benji, Emily and Luke are coming, but I'd totally understand if-"

"Oh my God Beca, not again." Chloe said amusedly. "Of course I'll come, and I'll ask Aubrey, but she probably will too. I didn't know you did DJ gigs though."

"Oh the munchkin is the best. You'll see. You'll get me a VIP pass too, right?" The blonde interrupted.

"Yeah, Amy, I already got you one." She said before facing Chloe again. "I don't do it often. That's where I kinda started, now I only do it when someone I really trust can ensure my privacy. When I DJ, my name is DJ Bx, the booth is private and it has no windows, and the owner of this particular club is a friend of Luke's."

"That's so awesome! I'm so happy you get to do that without giving your privacy up. But Bec, it may not be wise for me to be there… I'm still sorta famous." Chloe said, suddenly unsure.

"Yeah… But no one is going to actually see me in the DJ booth, so I'll be nothing but your girlfriend, and nobody's allowed to do anything with that information so… If you don't think this is a good idea, it's okay. And in fact, I can still cancel the gig and we can go on a date by ourselves. I probably shouldn't have accepted it on the first place, I had plans with you, I'm so sorry."

"Baby." Chloe sighed. "We're talking about this whole rambling thing later. For now, you're going. I can tell you're excited for this, so I'm most definitely going too if you're sure it's not risking your privacy. And we're having our date at the club, it really makes no difference to me, as long as we're together, okay?" Chloe said, holding Beca's hand that wasn't on the steering wheel.

"All right. Thank you." The brunette answered with a relieved smile.

"So disgusting. Pull over, there's a coffee shop right there and I'm not staying in this car one more minute." Amy said, although she was smiling and Beca laughed at her antics.

"All right, weirdo"

/

Later that night, the couple was on Beca's apartment, the brunette playing the piano while the actress read a book, laying in the sofa.

"Babe?" Beca said, suddenly stopping and the redhead looked up worriedly.

"What's wrong?"

"I just realised, I never really talked to you about whether or not you wanted me to talk to Bumper. I just said I would and you went with it. Are you actually okay with that? I mean I figure if you haven't said anything yet, you probably are, but it doesn't hurt to ask." Chloe laughed.

"Amy did most of the job Bec." She said standing up and going to sit on Beca's lap. "But yeah, I'm totally okay. He was starting to really bother me, and it was hot, you being so protective." She said before kissing Beca.

"All right." Beca smiled.

"But, I do need to talk to you about something serious." Beca nodded. "Your rambling. It's totally cute, don't take this the wrong way, I find it endearing. But baby, you don't need to second guess everything you say to me, I'm not going to get mad because you speak your mind. And we're going to have disagreements, eventually, but that's normal. I just don't want you stressing out when you talk to me." She said rubbing Beca's hands with her thumbs.

"I kinda know that… like, I know you're not gonna judge me or whatever, but I can't help it. I'm, like, terrified to lose you. Seriously Chlo, I don't think you understand just how perfect you are. Anybody else would already be out the door, but you always talk to me instead of assuming, and you're so considerate, and, well, I just really, really don't want to lose you." She finished looking down.

"You won't baby, I swear. You underestimate yourself, seriously, I'd have to be stupid to let you go." The redhead said, before kissing her softly. "I know it's soon, but we've spent so much time together, and I feel like I've known you for years. And I just can't imagine myself with anyone but you. I don't want anyone but you. And I love you, Beca. You don't have to say it back, I just felt like I needed to tell you or I would explode." She finished with a soft smile, and Beca looked utterly surprised.

"I… you… You love me?" The redhead nodded. "Are you like… sure? You're not just saying that to make me feel good?"

"No, Bec, I'm one hundred percent sure I love you." She said bringing her right hand to play with Beca's hair and the brunette took a deep breath.

"Okay. All right. I uh… okay." The redhead smiled at her girlfriend's adorable awkwardness.

"I told you you don't have to say it back, don't pressure yourself, baby."

"No, um… I do want to say it. I just don't know if I can. The words just won't come out. I'm so sorry Chlo. I told you several times I'm probably broken…" the brunette said looking defeated.

"You're not broken Bec, you're amazing." The actress said, cupping her face with both her hands. "And you don't need to say it, you kinda show it to me every day."

"Yeah but… you know, I could tell you through a song… I just don't think that's the way I want to do it, just… ugh, I don't know."

"Don't worry baby." She said, pulling her into a tender kiss. "Let's go have some dinner, okay?" She said standing up and pulling Beca with her.

And then, Beca realised that she might be handicapped in this whole relationship and love thing, but she had found the most amazing girl in the world, and she was going to be exactly what the ginger needed, whatever it costs.


	11. Chapter 11

When Saturday came, Chloe woke up bright and early to get fresh coffee and bagels to bring to her girlfriend's house. Beca had told her that since she had nothing to do until she had to set up her equipment, at around 6PM, they could spend the whole day together, and Chloe was ecstatic. With the whole shooting of the film they hadn't been spending as much time together as they used to, and they were both craving it.

After stopping in a small coffee shop, she went to Beca's apartment and opened the door with the key Beca had recently given her, in case the DJ was still sleeping.

The house was completely silent, so she went to the kitchen to leave their breakfast and made her way to the bedroom. Beca was sleeping on one of Chloe's oversized T-shits that she must have left on one of their sleepovers. She had her mouth slightly open and she was drooling.

Chloe giggled and snapped a picture before laying next to her and placing soft kisses all over her face. The music producer sighed and turned to cuddle into Chloe, placing her head in the redhead's chest and an arm over her waist. Chloe giggled again and whispered in Beca's ear while caressing her face softly.

"Baby, it's time to wake up"

This time, Beca slowly opened her eyes and said "Chlo?"

"Yeah. I brought coffee and bagles." Beca just smiled lovingly at her before burying her face on her chest again.

"I love waking up next to you. Can we just lay here for a bit?" The ginger laughed at her girlfriend's antics.

"I know you just want to sleep a while more, but okay" she said turning to hug the petite brunette more comfortably.

Beca fell back asleep almost immediately and Chloe soon followed, soothed by the brunettes steady breathing.

Whent they woke up again, it was almost noon.

"Fuck. I'm so sorry Chlo, I wanted to spend the day with you and I made you waste the whole morning sleeping." She said pouting. Chloe kissed her pout and smiled at her.

"We didn't waste anything, I love this. We really should have sleep overs more often." She said before pulling Beca into a tight embrace.

"I really wouldn't mind."

They stayed tangled in each other for a while longer before getting up to drink the cold coffee and eat their food. They talked animatedly about Beca's gig and Chloe's film, and then they decided to go for a walk on the park they went to on their first date. When they arrived to Beca's spot, they laid a blanket they had brought with them on the floor and sat on it, Beca practically on the redhead's lap.

"You know, on our first date I promised I'd show you my secret spot, and I never really did. It kinda slipped my mind." Chloe said, stroking Beca's hair absentmindedly.

"Right, but like I told you before, you don't have to if you don't wanna"

"Of course I want to, baby." She said placing a small kiss on top of her head. "I wanna share everything with you. We can go tomorrow, if you're free?" Beca turned her head and placed a soft kiss on the redhead's lips.

"Of course babe. I'll always make time for you." She said before kissing her again.

They stayed like that, talking and kissing in between, until 4PM came around.

"Hey babe, it's getting kinda late. What if we go to your house so you can get some clothes, get changed at my place, and I call Luke so he can bring some fish and chips for us there?"

"Yes! Fish and chips! Let's go!" Chloe said, clapping her hands excitingly before getting up and pulled Beca with her, and the brunette couldn't help but laugh.

They arrived at Beca's apartment 45 minutes later, after a quick stop at Chloe's and a call to Luke. Beca got ready in no time and while Chloe was getting ready in the bathroom, the doorbell rang and the brunette went to let Luke in. He looked around and made a disappointed face.

"No Chloe? You said your beautiful ginger was going to be around." Beca punched his arm.

"She's out of bounds, dude, take your British charms elsewhere." Luke laughed at that. "She's finishing getting ready in the bathroom. Get the dinner ready while I go get her. Oh, and I'm starving, I hope you brought enough food to feed me."

"I always do, Becky, don't worry."

Fifteen minutes later, they were sitting at the table eating and talking.

"So, how's Becky treating you, Chloe? Do I need to have a talk with her?"

"Dude!" Beca said with her mouth full.

"Beca, don't speak with your mouth full." Chloe said with a mock glare. "Her manners could be better, but she's fine, no talk will be needed. Thanks, Luke."

"My manners are just fine. Now let me eat before I die from starvation."

The ginger and the blonde continued making light conversation while Beca concentrated solely in her food. After she had swallowed around 2 pounds of fish and chips, they cleaned up and left for the club. The three of the took a limo, while the others would meet them there later. During the ride, Chloe noticed Beca was a bit fidgety.

"Baby, you okay?"

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine, kinda nervous though. I don't do this much, I always get like this. It's like everytime I DJ I feel I could blow up my cover and everybody will know who I am. It's stupid." Beca rushed sheepishly looking down.

"It's not." Chloe took her hand between hers. "It's okay to be scared baby. But I'll be there all the time. I know I can't do much, but I can at least make sure nobody goes in the booth, if that helps?"

"Yeah. Thanks babe." The brunette said giving her a soft kiss. It lasted longer than they intended, but they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat and when they pulled apart they saw Luke looking at them with a shit eating grin.

"Don't-" Beca started but it was too late.

"Oh, babe, I'm so nervous, give me a kiss." He said in a mock tone and started making kissing noises. "Of course, Becky, let me kiss you in-" He was cut short by a punch in his chest.

"Shut the fuck up." Beca said, face redder than her girlfriend's hair, while Chloe and Luke laughed at her.

When they finally arrived to the club, they entered through the back door and Beca went to set her equipment up to the booth while Luke led Chloe to an empty VIP area reserved for Beca and her friends.

About half an hour later, Chloe and Luke were having a drink when Beca came into the room.

"I'm all set, when are the others arriving?"

"They should be here in a few minutes, Aubrey texted me a while ago saying Emily, Benji, Stacie and her were on a cab on their way here." Chloe said while signaling for her girlfriend to sit next to her.

Just when Beca took a seat, they heard a commotion right outside the room.

"Shortstack invited us, she should be awaiting our arrival. Now get out of the way before I unleash the kraken." Beca rolled her eyes and went to open the door.

"Amy, please behave, I wouldn't let you in either." She said shooting an apologetic smile to the bodyguards holding Amy.

The Australian entered the room with another dark skinned woman.

"Hey Amy, how you getting on? I've missed you." Luke said getting up to give her a hug.

"I've missed you too, eye candy. You coming home with me tonight."

"We'll see" Luke said laughing. "Hey CR, Beca didn't tell me you were coming today."

"I had to come, she mentioned a certaing girlfriend of hers was coming, I had to witness such a miracle with my own eyes." She said scanning the room. When her eyes fell on Chloe her jaw dropped and turned to Beca. "The hot ginger actress is your girlfriend?" Beca nodded, rolling her eyes. "Well done Becs! You going to introduce me or what."

"Do not hit on her. Chlo, this is CR, you may know her… I've produced a couple of her albums, we're kinda friends now. CR, this is Chloe, my girlfriend. I'm assuming you do know her."

"Of course I do. Nice to meet you Chloe, I'm a big fan of your work." CR said extending her hand. Chloe just looked at her with wide eyes.

"Chlo? You okay?" Beca said worriedly and Chloe snapped out of it, nodding and finally shaking CR's hand.

"Sorry, sorry. I was a bit starstruck, I love your music. And Beca never mentioned knowing you." She said, shooting a glare to the brunette, who gave her an apologetic smile.

They chatted for a while and then the rest of the group came. After introductions were made, Beca had to go start her set and the others went to the dancefloor.

The set was going flawlessly, everybody was pumped up by Beca's music. After one hour dancing, Chloe decided to take a breather and bring Beca a drink to the booth.

When she got there, she saw a group of at least fifteen boys and girls with drinks being held by the doormen. They were all complaining because they weren't allowed to bring drinks to the DJ. Chloe realised that it was probably not a good idea to bring Beca a drink, in case she was recognised and people tied loose ends and related them both, discovering the DJ's identity. Just when she was about to turn and leave, a doorman caught her eye and motioned for her to wait in the VIP room, that was next to the booth, so she did what she was told and slipped in quietly.

About two minutes later the same doorman entered the VIP room.

"Sorry about that, miss Beale, we were told to let you in the booth if you came in, but every time she plays people gather in front to the door with drinks. You can go now, we told everyone to go." Chloe gave him a smile and followed him.

When she opened the door to the booth, the DJ turned around, tensing up before relaxing and smiling.

"Hey babe, I didn't know if you were going to come." She said leaning in to give her a peck.

"I brought you a drink. Did you know there were like 50 people outside waiting to do the same?" She said, jealousy dripping from her words.

"Uhm… No, I didn't. And you're probably exaggerating. Nobody is allowed to come in except for you, anyway, so it's not like it matters." The brunette answered, completely oblivious to Chloe's jealousy.

The redhead sighed and realised that she had no reason to be jealous, so she handed Beca her drink and sat on the DJ's lap, who gave her a smile and a quick kiss to the cheek before turning a few knobs in her equipment.

"So, how are you liking the set? Is it okay?" the DJ asked worriedly.

"I'm loving it baby, and so is everyone else, it's crazy down there." She said giving her girlfriend a warm smile. "When do you finish, though? I want to dance with you."

"Fifteen more minutes and I'm all yours. Meet you in the VIP room?"

"Okay, I'm gonna go find the others and enjoy the rest of your awesome music. I love you." She said before giving her a peck and getting up to leave.

/

When she finished her set, Beca went into the VIP room to meet the others. They were all a bit tipsy and laughing like crazy. They congratulated her and then they headed to the dancefloor to dance to the house DJ.

Beca and Chloe were having a lot of fun, enjoying the privacy that the dark room gave them, being able to be a normal couple without being recognised.

"Hey, babe, I'm gonna go get a drink, do you want anything?" Beca asked.

"No, I'm good, thanks. Don't take to long." She answered giving her a peck and tuning to dance with Aubrey.

Beca was taking too long, so Chloe went to look for her only to find her girlfriend talking animatedly to a gorgeous blonde who was clearly flirting with her. Now she was properly jealous and she went angrily towards them.

"Hey baby" she said before fiercely kissing her. At first the DJ didn't respond but then she started kissing her back just as hard. When Chloe pulled away the brunette was completely flushed. "Who's your friend?" She said turning to the blonde, who was giving her a nasty look.

"Uhm… Katherine? Katelynn?"

"Kimberly." The blonde said bitterly. "You forgot to mention you had a girlfriend." Beca looked absolutely confused.

"Why would I mention it? Dude, I just met you."

"Well we clearly had something going on here until the bitch showed up." Chloe went to say something to her, but she was cut off by a very angry Beca.

"What the fuck? We had nothing going on, like, at all, I was being nice, Jesus. And don't you dare insult my girlfriend again or I'll fucking end you."

"Whatever. Your loss." She said before tuning around. Beca looked absolutely stunned.

"Can you believe her?" She said turning to Chloe, who was angrily looking at her. Beca gulped. "Babe, I wasn't flirting with her, you have to believe me. I thought she just wanted to talk. Oh my God. Please don't be mad." She rushed out.

"I'm pretty angry. Come with me. Now." She said, pulling Beca by the hand towards where their friends were.

Chloe pushed the brunette flush into her body and started grinding into her, bringing her mouth right next to her ear.

"I think I need to show everyone you're mine." She said, biting the DJ's lobe. "I won't have anybody else flirting with my girl." And with that she kissed her passionately. It soon turned into a heavy make-out session, with hands under clothes, groping whatever they could find, until Aubrey broke them off.

"Chloe! Control yourself. You're practically having sex on the dancefloor. You either stop or go home." She said firmly.

"Okay! Bye Bree!" She said, pulling Beca with her, who just waved goodbye to her friends smiling like an idiot and dutifully followed her girlfriend to the back exit.

They got into the limo and after telling the driver to take them to Beca's apartment, the brunette tried to resume their previous activities, but, she was stopped by the redhead's hand on her chest.

"I'm still mad at you. You could have stopped that girl. It was obvious she was flirting."

"I didn't realise, babe, I swear. Besides, I only want you." She said, leaning in again, only to be stopped one more time.

"Not enough." She said firmly and Beca realised this was serious.

"Okay." She said cupping Chloe's face with her hands. "I've never had one night stands, or any relationship, before you. You are the most special person I've ever met, and I'd have to be fucking crazy to jeopardise that. I am so, so sorry I made you doubt that, and I swear I didn't realise, I would have stopped her right away otherwise. I love you, so much." Just as she finished saying this, she widened her eyes, Chloe mirroring her expression.

"Did you really mean that? I won't be mad if you didn't." Chloe said cautiously.

"I… um… I- I mean, what the fuck, of course I did." She said, suddenly smiling widely. "I have been meaning to tell you for a while, I just didn't seem to be able to. God, I'm so, so glad to get that out of my chest. I fucking love you, Chloe Beale." Chloe was now mirroring her smile. She leaned in and kissed her passionately, but before things could escalate, the driver said through the intercom that they had arrived.

"I love you very much too." The redhead said, giving her one last peck before leaving the limo and Beca soon followed.

They got to the flat with their lips attached, and Beca tried to open the door without breaking their kiss, but she seemed to be completely unable to do so.

"Wait, wait, just let me…" She said slipping her key into the keyhole and opening the door. As soon as she stepped inside, Chloe's lips were on her again and she closed the door throwing Beca's body against it.

Things continued getting more and more heated. Their shirts had been discarded at some point and they were groping each other's chest roughly.

"Wait, wait." Chloe said pulling away, but leaving her face only inches from Beca's, still on top of the brunette on the couch. "Are you sure about this? Because we both know where this is leading to, and I don't know if you are ready, and I really don't want to rush you." She said worriedly and Beca pecked her lips.

"You're right. Sorry. I think I'm ready for this. I don't know if this is how I want to do this, though, after a night of drinking and partying. I'm sorry I led you on… you must think I'm a tease…"

"I don't think you're a tease Bec, don't worry. We can wait as long as you want, there's no hurry." She said before kissing her softly. "Now let's go cuddle in bed." She said getting up and pulling Beca with her, who followed happily.

They laid hugging each other tightly and Beca sighed contentedly.

"You're the best Chlo. I promise we'll do it soon" the brunette said turning her head to place a kiss in her collarbone.

"No hurry baby. Now sleep and don't worry about anything. Good night. I love you."

"Good night babe. I love you too. So, so much." She gave her a short kiss in the lips and settled on top of her redhead, falling into a deep sleep a few moments later.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Sorry about the long wait. I'm an actual disaster of a person, so I'm not even going to promise to update sooner, because then I might just forget and not do it anyway. I swear I'll try though.   
> I hope you like the new chapter, let me know what you think please.  
> Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing, you are great!
> 
> Warning: Smut towards the end

The following day Chloe woke up cuddled against Beca's side, with the brunette's arms tightly holding her and the actress's head on her chest. She sighed contently and buried herself deeper into her girlfriend's body for a few minutes before she tried to get up. But the arms wrapped around her waist tightened their grip and when she looked up she saw Beca looking at her with a sleepy smile.

"Morning babe." She said, kissing her softly. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I was going to make us some breakfast. You can sleep in, be right back."

When she tried to get up again her body was pushed back into the bed and before she could blink there was a tiny body straddling her. Beca leaned in once again to kiss her deeply and when she pulled back, she offered a giddy smile.

"Nope. I'm cooking you breakfast and you are staying in bed. I'll bring the food to you." Chloe went to protest, but before she could get a word out Beca put a hand over her mouth. "Do not try to fight me on this. You are staying. I'm going. Just stay here and relax." She kissed her once again and before the redhead could get a word in the DJ was already out the door.

Chloe just laid there, smiling like a crazy person while she thought how lucky she was. It had been hard to get through the brunette's walls, but it had been worth it in the end. Beca was just the whole package once she was confident enough to be herself. She was the most caring and considerate person Chloe had ever met, always putting her loved one's interests before her own. She was so adorable when awkward or nervous, and so damn sexy when she was all confident. She was incredibly enthusiastic when she talked about music, and oh so talented, which, once again, made her incredibly sexy in Chloe's eyes. And to add to all that sexiness, there was her body. And face. And, well, all of her. Chloe was so in love.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard the object of her affections in the kitchen softly singing _Happy_ by Pharrell Williams. She chuckled softly and started singing along too. Not a minute later, the singing in the kitchen stopped and she heard steps running towards the bedroom, and in a blink of an eye Beca was jumping onto the bed and straddling her once again.

"You, my love, are such a talented singer." She said laying little kisses all over her face. When she pulled back she looked at her in the eyes. "Seriously, why the fuck aren't you in Broadway?"

"Well… I mean… that's in New York… I'm kinda happy in LA, but if you think I should pursue Broadway then…" She started with a teasing tone, and before she could finish she was stopped again by Beca's mouth on hers.

"Nope, you good here. I'll produce you an album, no worries." She said smiling softly before widening her eyes in realisation. "Oh my God. No. This is not what… this just sounded so bad, babe, if you want to go to Broadway you should, I didn't mean it like I wouldn't let you or… oh fuck, I'm just making it worse, aren't I? Okay, I'm just gonna shut up now…" The brunette rushed out, not daring to look at Chloe's face. The redhead just burst out laughing.

"Baby, come on, I don't want to go to Broadway, we just met this year, if I wanted to, I would have already tried before. I just like films better, I swear you're not holding me back." She said, holding her girlfriend's face to make her look at her. Beca just smiled softly at her and kissed her deeply.

"Okay. But we're talking about that album. I swear you are just too good. Now I'm going to finish breakfast. Don't interrupt me again with your mermaid singing. I barely had the will to turn the kitchen off before rushing to you." She said before disappearing again.

She came back ten minutes later with a tray full of pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs and chopped fruit and put it in the bed beside Chloe. The redhead widened her eyes and looked at Beca, who was lovingly smiling at her.

"Bec, when did you have time to make all this? Also, is this a normal breakfast for you? I mean, I knew you ate a lot, but this is enough to feed a family of eight." Beca laughed loudly at her bewildered tone.

"I work fast when I have a hot redhead in my bed I have to go back to. And no, it's not exactly a normal breakfast. I do eat a lot, I just don't really bother cooking so much. You deserve it though, so I hope you like it." She said with a smile, actually looking nervous to see the ginger's reaction to her food. Chloe returned her smile and went to take a bite of a pancake. Beca was a bit fidgety, looking at her with wide eyes, and she couldn't help but think she was incredibly adorable. She put the food in her mouth and gave Beca a thumbs up.

"This tastes amazing baby. Thank you so much." She said, leaning in to place a soft peck in her lips and the brunette visibly relaxed and gave her a wide smile before starting eating herself.

They made light conversation while they ate, and when they were done they decided to move things to the living room. Unfortunately, with Chloe's fame, it was hard for them to go out without being spotted, it was just easier to stay in, but none of them really minded. They were currently cuddling in the couch watching TV, Chloe between Beca's legs with her back resting on her girlfriend's front, while Beca had an arm tightly wrapped around her upper body and the other absentmindedly stroked the redhead's hair.

"Hey, Bec?" Chloe said turning to look at Beca from where she was cuddled into her chest.

"Yeah?"

"Remember I told you I would take you to my spot today? Can we go a bit later? Watch sunset there? It's a bit of a drive, but I swear it's worth it. We could have a picnic there. If you're up for it, that is."

"I would love that." She said, laying a kiss on the redhead's lips. "Wanna take my car or yours?"

"Well… I need you to drop me off at my place. I don't have any clean clothes left here. So maybe we could take mine? I don't take it out much, but I still have the old pick up my dad bought for me when I got my license."

"Cool. You need to bring more clothes here, by the way. And a toothbrush and all that shit. It's starting to be a real pain that you can't spend the night because you don't have clothes." She said smiling at the redhead. "Besides that's a coupley thing to do, I kinda like it." She said before laying a soft peck in her lips. Chloe chuckled and cuddled herself deeper into Beca.

"Okay, we can do that. You're pretty awesome, you know that?"

"Dunno, there's a pretty redhead who says so sometimes…" She said in a teasing tone.

"Clever girl that one…"

/

At around 4PM, after spending the whole day cuddled on the couch doing nothing at all, they headed to Chloe's apartment.

"Hey, mind if I go buy some food for later while you get changed? It won't take long. You should also take some spare clothes to leave at my home, while you're at it." Beca said, winking at her.

"Sounds good baby." She said before giving her a peck. "If Aubrey sees me she's going to be a pain and start asking questions, so come up to my apartment when you're done, I'll leave the door open." With a final kiss on the cheek she got out of the car. "Bye!"

"Bye babe, see you soon."

When the passenger door closed Beca headed to the closest store and bought everything they needed to make sandwiches for a picnic along with some snacks and drinks and hurried back to her girlfriend. When she got out of the elevator she could hear Chloe talking excitedly.

"She's like a different person, but in a very good way. She seems happier… and she finally said it! I mean I kind of knew she did, but she said it and it makes it more real, you know?"

"What is?" The brunette asked with a soft smile when she entered the bedroom where Chloe and Aubrey were talking.

"This is girl talk, hobbit, come back in twenty minutes." The blonde answered glaring at her, but a small smile was pulling at her lips.

"I'm a girl, Posen, want me to show yo-"

"Okay! No showing, baby." The redhead said skipping towards her girlfriend before giving her a peck on the lips and beaming at her. "We were taking about how you _love_ me" She said in a teasing tone and Beca couldn't help but return the wide smile.

"Damn right I do." She said before grabbing her neck and pulling her in for a deeper kiss.

"Wow, I'm impressed, I never thought the little alt girl would actually be this way. Good job Chlo." Aubrey said and Beca glared at her while she grumbled.

"She was always like this." The still beaming redhead said, hugging Beca tightly against her body. "You just didn't see it, but I snatched the sexiest, cutest most adorable girl in the country."

"I'm not cute! Or adorable! How many times do I have to tell you I'm badass?" She said pulling out of the embrace and crossing her arms over her chest with a pout.

"Cutest pout ever." Chloe before kissing her.

"Shut up. Are you ready or what? Not that I don't enjoy Aubrey's company, but I'd like to actually get to see that sunset you talked about."

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm almost ready, let me just take some clothes and put them on a bag to bring to yours."

"And a toothbrush and all that shit."

"Yes baby." The redhead said laughing. "Why do you always say toothbrush and all that shit? What exactly is 'shit'?"

"I don't know, that's why I say that. I suppose you might need more than a toothbrush, so, you know, bring all that shit too." Beca said matter of factly.

"So eloquent…" The blonde teased with a smile on her face after seeing the whole exchange and Chloe laughed.

"Shut up." Beca grumbled. "I'm gonna go make the sandwiches." She grumbled, leaving the room.

"Okay! I'll get the clothes, and a toothbrush and all that shit!" Chloe yelled after her still laughing.

/

Half an hour later they were leaving after saying goodbye to Aubrey and setting up a lunch date for Tuesday with the blonde. They went to the garage in the underground room to get Chloe's pickup car. It was a black Chevrolet and definitely not something you'd expect from Chloe, but it was fitting, once you saw them together.

"That's one pretty car, Beale." She said running a hand over the car's body and continuing its journey to the redhead's body around her waist. "And an even prettier owner, if you ask me." She finished, pulling her in for a sweet kiss. Chloe giggled when they pulled away and stroked Beca's cheek.

"That was smooth, baby. What's gotten into you today?" Beca's expression sobered at that, although a small smile was still playing in her lips.

"I'm just really happy. We can talk about that later. There's something I want to tell you anyway." She explained and pecked her girlfriend's lips before running to the passenger door and jumping in. "Are we going or not? Now that you offered, I'm dying to see your spot." Chloe smiled lovingly at her and shook her head lightly.

"We're going. We don't wanna miss the sunset." She jumped in and started the car. "Now relax and don't be an over excited kid for the rest of the trip. We need to drive for almost an hour to get there."

"Yes ma'am, I'll be in my best behaviour…" She said before a mischievous smile made its way to her face. "If you kiss me first." Chloe laughed loudly and stopped the car right before going out of the garage to turn to her girlfriend.

"I swear I'm dating a kid…" She mumbled before cupping the brunette's face with her hands and kissing her long and passionately. "Happy?" She said when she pulled away and saw the dazzled expression on Beca's face.

"Ye- yeah. Thanks." She answered with a dopey grin. "Now drive."

/

"So… we're here." Chloe said nervously, putting the car to a stop after driving through small paths to the top of a mountain. They were at the very top of a hill, overlooking the whole city of LA, without a single person or car near them. Beca wasn't saying anything and it was making the redhead even more nervous. "Baby? Do you like it?" The brunette turned to look at Chloe.

"Are you kidding? I love this. It's so beautiful." She answered giving Chloe and honest and loving smile before pulling her in for a short, sweet kiss. "Thanks for bringing me here babe." Chloe beamed at her and sighed in relief.

"I was so scared you wouldn't like it or something. We can come here sometimes to relax, if you want. I've never seen anyone but me around, I love the calmness this place gives me…"

"Well, I mean, I would like nothing more than that, but this is you place, Chlo. This is where you come to be alone and I don't want to take that away from you." She said looking into her girlfriend's eyes and Chloe smiled at her.

"Don't be silly, Beca. I'll let you know if I don't want you here, I promise, but even when I want to be alone, that doesn't include you. You make me feel so calm and safe, I don't think I'd actually be able to relax without you around anymore. I love you baby." By the time she finished talking Beca was beaming at her. The brunette threw her arms around Chloe's waist and held her close.

"Thank you babe. I love you too, so, so much." She pulled away and looked at Chloe with a serious expression and wide eyes. "Don't ever leave me Chloe. Please." She said, tears already pooling her eyes.

"I'm not planning on it, baby, you know that." She said and Beca lowered her gaze to her feet. "Becs, look at me please." She cupped her face with both hands and when the brunette finally looked at her she started speaking. "I'm so in love with you it drives me insane sometimes. You're the best damn thing that's ever happened to me, and I know this is pretty heavy, and maybe too soon into the relationship, but I know you're the one for me and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So don't ever be scared I'll leave you, and don't ever doubt how much I love you and how great you are, because you, Beca Mitchell, are an amazing human being." Beca was properly crying by the time Chloe finished and the redhead wiped all her tears with her thumbs.

"I feel the same about you, Chlo, I don't ever want to be with anyone else, and I don't ever want to be without you, I just… you know how I am… and I'm so sorry… I'm trying so hard not to be so insecure, because I swear I know you deserve the best, and I want to be that for you, I promise I'm trying, but sometimes my insecurities get the best of me… I'm going to shut up now. Just know that I'm so sorry." Chloe smiled softly at her, still wiping her tears.

"Baby, you're perfect for me just the way you are. Please believe that. I only want you to stop being so insecure because I care about you, and I want you to be the happiest you can be, but you never need to say sorry for that, I'll always be here to reassure you, and I'll do it a thousand times if that's what you need, okay?" Beca nodded with a smile so small you could barely notice it, but Chloe could and she smiled back at her before pulling her into a tight hug. "All right, let's get the picnic set up, I want to see the sunset cuddling my perfect girlfriend." She let go and placed a loving kiss on the DJ's lips before going to the car to get the food and a couple of blankets.

A few minutes later everything was set and they were completely intertwined with each other, covered with a blanket and enjoying some sandwiches, just enjoying each other's presence while the sun started setting.

"You know?" Beca started, turning slightly to look at Chloe. "I think this is the happiest I've ever been. Thank you Chlo."

"Me too baby, you don't need to thank me." She said smiling at the producer, and Beca just turned her whole body towards her and cupped her cheeks.

"I know. But now I'm going to show you how happy you make me and how thankful I am." She said before pulling her into a long, passionate kiss, so full of love they both could feel their hearts soar.

Beca laid them in the blanket positioning herself on top of Chloe without breaking the kiss. The redhead's arms curled around the DJ's body, pulling her closer. Beca's left her cheeks to grip Chloe's hips, disappearing under her clothes. Chloe moaned softly at the contact and Beca went to get rid of her girlfriend's shirt when she was stopped.

"Wait, baby, are you sure about this? You know you don't have to do anything you're not ready for. I don't mind waiting for as long as you want." Beca looked at her smiling.

"I know, babe. But I'm more than ready. I'm nervous, to be honest, because I don't know what the fuck I'm doing and I want you to enjoy this, but I'm so, so ready Chlo." She finished with a sweet kiss. When they broke apart Chloe smiled at her and turned them around so she was on top.

"It's okay, let me make love to you first. Don't be nervous, I got you." She whispered while leaving small kisses all over her face. Beca closed her eyes and nodded.

Chloe moved her lips to the brunette's neck and the DJ's hands instinctively went to tangle in red locks. She took a deep breath, attempting to calm her nerves and fully enjoy the experience. That didn't go unnoticed by Chloe, who stopped the attack on Beca's neck to cup her face with her hands, looking her in the eyes, and leaning in for a slow, long kiss.

There was so much love pouring out of that kiss that Beca forgot about her nerves and concentrated only in the woman she was in love with. The redhead pulled away leaving a few final pecks on her lover's lips, before staring again into her eyes, silently asking for permission and reassurance again. Beca nodded, understanding what Chloe needed, and the redhead proceeded to get rid of the producer's shirt.

Once it was out of the way, she started leaving soft kisses all over her cleavage and Beca let out a soft moan. After a while, Beca began tugging on Chloe's shirt.

"Take that off, babe, please." She begged, pulling her head away from her chest and looking at her in the eyes. Chloe did as she was told and Beca couldn't help but be entrance by the sight in front of her. "You are so beautiful, Chlo." Chloe smiled lovingly at her.

"You're the beautiful one, love." She said before leaning in, leaving no space between their bodies, and kissed her again passionately. Her hands went to the brunette's pants' button and she briefly pulled away, to look at her to ask for permission again, and resumed the kissing once it was granted. She got rid of Beca's pants and of her own and soon they were both in their underwear, hands roaming every inch they could get to.

It was Beca who reached for her lover's bra first. She took it off and threw it on the pile of their clothes. She looked at Chloe in the eyes before moving her mouth to her breasts, kissing all over them before giving attention to the nipples. Chloe moaned loudly, fully enjoying the sensation of her girlfriend's mouth on her, but pulled away after a couple of minutes.

"I told you, I'm going first baby." She said, reaching for her bra and taking it off as well. "Just lay there and enjoy." With that, she went in for a kiss before making her way to Beca's chest. She gave her the same treatment she had been given before, but after a few minutes, her right hand made her way to Beca's centre, caressing her over her lacey panties. Beca let out a loud moan, and Chloe one of her own at the feeling of how wet her girlfriend was.

"God, baby. You're so sexy." She said before making her way down her abdomen, to her thighs. She started pulling on her panties while leaving kisses on the inside of her legs and Beca helped her get them off, breathing heavily. "You're gorgeous." Chloe said, pulling away for a second to take in the image of her flushed girlfriend, her chest going up and down taking in ragged breaths. She went in for a kiss. "Are you positive you want to do this? We can still stop." She mumbled against her lips.

"No!" Beca said hurriedly, and blushed at her own eagerness. "I mean, I'm one hundred per cent positive I want this, please don't stop." Chloe smiled down at her before leaning in for a soft kiss. Her right hand going south once again, only this time there wasn't a fabric barrier between her hand and Beca's centre. She took a couple of experimental strokes to her slit and Beca let out a long moan.

She kept kissing her while her fingers started a circular motion on her clit, deciding not to tease her today. Beca's breath started to become irregular as she began to let out a series of curse words.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck. Oh, shit, Chlo."

"Do you like this baby?" Chloe asked with an innocent tone, knowing full well the answer. Beca tried to answer, but she found herself unable to.

"Chlo… oh Chlo… fuck. I- I… yeah, I d-do. Chlo, please, I need you inside, please." She said between ragged breaths.

Chloe kissed her again and began inching her fingers towards her entrance. She pulled away to look at Beca in the eyes while she entered her slowly with one finger. The brunette's eyes shut closed and she let out a throaty moan.

"Is this okay baby? Am I hurting you?" Chloe asked concerned and Beca quickly shook her head, moving her hips to let Chloe know to go on.

Chloe began going in and out with her finger and, when she thought she was stretched enough, she inserted another one.

Beca was a moaning mess by now, hips moving uncontrollably, arms wrapped tight aroung Chloe's neck. Chloe started leaving small kisses on her face.

"Let go, baby, come for me." She said, looking straight into her eyes. Those words and the look of pure adoration Beca could see in her girlfriend's face were all it took to come right then.

Chloe helped her out of her high, slowing down the movements of her fingers and peppering her face with kisses, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. When Beca finally stilled, Chloe pulled out, but the brunettes arms were still wrapped tight around her neck, so she let her head rest on top of the brunette's chest while tracing random patterns on her abdomen.

"Was that okay? Did I hurt you?" Beca finally loosened her grip to look at her.

"It was more than okay, babe. It was incredible, and you didn't hurt me one bit." She said before giving her a chaste kiss. "I uh… I'd really like to… you know…"

"I don't know baby, you may have to tell me first." Chloe said amused by her girlfriend's bashfulness.

"Well… you know… I mean… okay, I'm just gonna say it. I'd really like to make love to you now… or whatever." Chloe was trying hard not to laugh by now.

"Or whatever?" Beca blushed and tried to hide her face on the crook of Chloe's neck. "Hey, no, sorry, I wasn't making fun of you. You're just too cute." She said beaming at her. "Come here, you." She went in for a kiss and Beca smiled into it, eventually turning them around so she was on top again.

The kiss quickly turned heated, with Beca's hands groping Chloe's breasts and pinching her nipples. Chloe was whimpering under her touch, arching her back in hopes to get some friction.

"Baby… you're killing me… please…" she said in between pants.

"Please what?" Beca said, feeling more confident.

"Please touch me." Beca grinned and immediately went to take the redhead's panties off.

"I can't believe you were still wearing those." She complained before moving her left hand to Chloe's sex and starting some soft motions over her clit. Chloe moaned and pulled Beca into a tight embrace. "Is this okay?"

"Yes… please I need more." Beca complied and started applying more pressure. Chloe moaned loudly and hid her face on Beca's neck, panting heavily.

"Babe, look at me." The brunette said cupping her face with her other hand and softly stroking her cheek with her thumb. "Would it be okay if I… like… um… you know, if I tasted you…?" Chloe smiled at the cuteness in front of her. Even with one of her hands doing filthy things to her, Beca still managed to be her awkward, adorable self.

"Yes, Bec. You can do anything you want. I'm completely yours." She answered before pulling her in for a kiss. Beca returned it before moving her mouth down her body, kissing her neck, her breasts and her abdomen, everything without stopping the movements of her hand, until her mouth reached her centre. She removed her fingers and stuck her tongue out to take a long lick to her slit.

The both moaned and then the brunette attached her lips to Chloe's bundle of nerves, and Chloe went haywire, moaning uncontrollably.

"Oh, God, that feels so good baby, don't stop." She panted moving her hands to Beca's hair. The DJ smirked against her centre and continued sucking and licking on her for a few minutes, until she moved one finger inside of Chloe.

The redhead emitted a sound between a moan and a whimper and Beca had to look up to check if she was okay, and seeing the face of immense pleasure her girlfriend had, she started moving her finger in and out of her, without stopping what she was doing with her mouth. She kept the same rhythm for a few minutes until Chloe started moving her hips higher, searching for more.

"Baby… please more…" Beca understood what Chloe needed and added another finger, and then another one, and started pumping as fast as she could. She left her position in between her legs to kiss the redhead, going even faster, and that did it for Chloe, who came hard and loud, her whole body convulsing. Beca helped her ride her orgasm out in the same way Chloe did for her, slowing her movements gradually and leaving sweet kisses all over her face.

When the redhead finally calmed down she pulled out of her and laid on her side, looking at her lover's face.

"Did I do good?" she asked shyly, all her confidence banished. Chloe turned her head to look at her with a loving smile.

"You did amazing babe, you really are a natural." She said before kissing her softly. "I don't think I've ever come that hard, actually." She finished and then she cuddled into Beca's side, resting her head on the brunette's chest.

"Do you think we can sleep here? There's a good temperature and I really don't want to move." Beca said, stroking Chloe's hair and feeling content and at peace.

"We can do anything you want." She kissed and reached for the blanket that had been discarded with their clothes, covering them both before cuddling her closer and closing her eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too Chlo. So much."


	13. Chapter 13

Beca was never a morning person. She hated early mornings, and she hated fucking sunshine. But now she had her own sunshine. And that was so fucking cheesy she wants to throw up. But not really, because she's so happy about it she can't even bring herself to care that she's not the emotionless badass she used to be.

And that's why when she wakes up early in the morning to the sound of birds singing and the sun in her face, covered with nothing but a blanket and Chloe's body, she thinks she's never been this content before.

She let out a happy sigh and hugged her girlfriend closer to her body, smiling big and closing her eyes, just enjoying the moment. She stays like that until she feels Chloe moving and beginning to leave small kisses wherever her head can reach in her tight embrace. But she doesn't move, and she doesn't open her eyes. Her smile just stretches even more and starts raking her fingers through Chloe's hair.

"Good morning baby. Did you sleep well?" Chloe asked, still with a sleepy voice, pulling slightly away to look at her. And Beca didn't think it was humanly possible, but she smiled even bigger.

"I don't think I've slept this well in years. Which is surprising cause we slept in the fucking floor and I should be dying." She leaned in to peck Chloe's lips and then her expression sobered and a worried frown appeared on her face. "So… um… about last night… was it…" Chloe interrupted before she could finish her question.

"It was amazing, don't even ask." She said looking into her eyes. "You were great and it was great. I wouldn't change last night for the world." Beca was grinning like an idiot again. "I take from your giddy expression you regret nothing, right? I didn't pressure you or anything?" Beca leaned in to kiss her again.

"I regret nothing, and you didn't pressure me at all. I was so ready, Chlo. You've been great and so patient these past months. And it took me a little to get there, but right now I trust you, and I love you, and I just want to be yours and for you to be mine in every possible way. And shit, that was so cheesy, again, but you get it, right?" Chloe chuckled at her adorable girlfriend and looked at her lovingly.

"Yeah I get it, my badass girlfriend." She laid her head on the brunette's chest again and hugged her tighter, resuming their previous position. "Hey, baby."

"Yeah?"

"Just wanted to remind you, I love you too, and I'm not going anywhere. Not anytime soon." She said drawing patterns on Beca's still bare abdomen.

"Okay," Beca whispered, "thank you. For telling me. And I love you too, babe, so much."

/

When they were ready, they got dressed and put everything on the truck to go back home.

"To your apartment? That way I can leave my stuff." Chloe said, turning to look at Beca in the passenger seat.

"Yeah, okay, I was thinking, though, we're almost always in my place. And don't get me wrong, I love having you anytime, but I was wondering, do you want to, like, hang out more at yours? If you miss it or something." Beca rambled, playing nervously with her hands.

"Okay. I mean, I'm completely okay with your place, but it might be nice to spend some time at mine." Chloe said smiling and starting the car. "Maybe you could bring some clothes, and a toothbrush and all that shit." She teased, and started laughing when Beca just glared at her and slapped her arm before turning to look out the window.

/

When they got to Beca's apartment, they got everything set up. Beca chose some clothes to take to Chloe's to make room, and they both put Chloe's things in the drawers. Then they went to the bathroom and put everything that Chloe had brought with her next to Beca's. When everything was ready, Beca took a step back to look at the bathroom and smiled.

"Your things look so good next to mine" She turned to give Chloe a kiss and moved quickly. "Now let me grab a spare toothbrush, and shampoo and those things, I can't wait to invade your space." Chloe laughed at her girlfriend. She seriously couldn't get any cuter.

"You know, if we both had spare toothbrushes at our places, it would have been easier if you gave me yours and I gave you mine instead of bringing our own." Chloe observed, leaning in the doorframe.

"Sure, but I like it better this way, feels more coupley." She answered, still moving around the bathroom at full speed before stopping in front of Chloe. "And I love being reminded the we are a couple." She pecked the redhead's lips and got out of the bathroom. "C'mon, Beale, I want to put this toothbrush next to yours." She yelled from the hallway.

Chloe chuckled and shook her head before following her out of the house and towards the car.

They arrived at Chloe's fifteen minutes later. Beca was like an over-excited toddler, talking nonstop and a smile never leaving her face, and it was all Chloe could do to keep stealing loving glances at her, completely enamoured with this side of Beca.

After she parked the truck, Beca got out and hurriedly went to the driver's side and opened the door for Chloe. The redhead smiled at her and got out before kissing her softly. When they pulled away they looked into each other's eyes.

"I really like it when you're happy." Chloe said, burying her fingers on Beca's hair.

"You make me really happy." Beca sighed and leaned in to kiss her before turning and running out of the garage. "Race you to the elevators!" Chloe chuckled and ran after her.

The short trip on the elevator consisted on a heavy make out session, and when they got out they were breathless. Beca hurried Chloe towards the door and, when they got in, they repeated the same things they did in Beca's place. And now that she saw it from another perspective, Beca's things did look amazing in her place, right next to hers. So she took the brunette by the hand and brought her to her comfy sofa, where they started making out.

Right when things were getting heated and they were both topless, with Chloe on top of Beca, the door flew open and Aubrey came in.

"Chloe! I heard noises coming from here and came to say hi. When did yo- Oh my God!" She blushed profusely and looked at the ceiling.

"Aubrey what the hell?" Chloe said frustrated.

"Don't you fucking knock?" Beca was more annoyed than anything.

"We never knock to get in each other's apartments, midget." Aubrey answered and Beca opened her mouth to say something but was stopped by Chloe.

"Okay, that's enough. Bree, please, will you give us five minutes? We'll come down to yours to talk then. I've missed you!"

"You saw her yesterday."

"Shut up Beca. Okay Chlo. Sorry about this." Aubrey said and turned to leave.

"Now I remember why I like my place better." Beca said and Chloe laughed loudly.

"Be nice baby. But I'm sorry about that. Come on, put your shirt on, I have to go tell my best friend how I've got the best girlfriend in the entire world." She said smiling before pecking her lips and getting up to get her own shirt.

"Alright, whatever." She got up and grabbed Chloe by the wrist, turning her around. "But when we come back, we're locking the door and we're going to finish this." Chloe gave her a lusty look and nodded.

"Damn right we are." The redhead leaned in to kiss her and then threw the brunette's shirt to her head. "Now get ready, the sooner we get there the sooner we can come back."

And that was all Beca needed to hurry up and make herself decent. Ten minutes later the couple was knocking on Aubrey's door.

"Hey" the blonde said when she opened the door. "Come to the living room you two. Chloe looks about to burst with excitement." And at that the redhead barged into the flat pulling Beca with her by the hand and sat them both down at the sofa. Aubrey took a seat in front of them a moment later and looked at the couple. "So, what's new since yesterday?" Chloe smiled wide and jumped into the explanation.

"So, today I left some stuff at Beca's, and she brought some to mine. I'm so happy, Bree, she's so great."

"Chlo, I'm right here. I feel like I shouldn't be in this conversation. Why don't I wait for you upstairs?" She said getting up, but Chloe pulled her back down, causing Beca to fall on her lap.

"Nope. I know you're here, and you're good." Chloe pecked her lips and Beca gave her a wide smile in return before putting her arms around her neck and pulling their bodies close. "See that?" Chloe said turning to Aubrey and circling her waist. "She looks so happy. Are you happy, baby?"

"I am happy. I still feel like I shouldn't be here though." Chloe tightened her embrace around her waist to pull her close.

"See? I make her happy." She said smiling wide. "Oh, and we had sex last night!"

"Chloe!" The two girls yelled at the same time, but the redhead just gave them an unapologetic smile.

"What?"

"You don't need to tell her about our sweet love making." Aubrey made gagging noises at that. "By the way, Aubrey, will you please ring the doorbell before going into Chloe's apartment?"

"And since when do you have a say in what's to be done or not in Chloe's apartment?" The blonde asked, annoyed that the DJ was telling her what to do.

"Right, sorry. That's probably something Chloe has to decide, I just thought that'd save some embarrassment to the three of us, but if you want to walk in on us again, by all means, just barge in."

"Okay, calm down you two. Beca, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. And Bree, please do knock, or let me know if you're coming by unless you know Beca's not there. I'm not ashamed, but I don't like being interrupted, I feel slightly sexually frustrated." The redhead calmly stated with a smile and Beca buried her head in the actress' neck to hide her blush while Aubrey covered her face with her hands.

"Okay, I'll knock, but I don't ever want to see or hear about you two having sex. Seriously Chlo, I know you wanna talk about it, but try Stacie, she'll love it" At that Chloe squealed in excitement and Beca mumbled some kind of protest from her place on Chloe's neck.

"Okay Bree, I'm really sorry we're not spending much time together, but we really need to go, and I'd be forever grateful if you didn't pay me a visit today, if you know what I mean." She said wiggling her eyebrows. "Are you free tomorrow though? We're both on a short break at work. We were planning on spending the next few days together, so you can join us whenever you have some time." Beca nodded, finally getting her head out of its hiding place on Chloe's neck and kissed the ginger's cheek before turning to look at the lawyer with a soft smile.

"All right, we can meet for lunch tomorrow, just not far from my office, if you don't mind. I'll text you the details. Now I think you should got before you actually have sex on my couch." She said standing up and leading them to the door.

When the two girls were back at Chloe's apartment they went directly into the bedroom where they did resume what they were doing before being interrupted.

A few hours later, they were cuddling while trying to control her breathing. Beca was tangled around Chloe's body and her head was on her sweat covered chest while Chloe hugged her and stroked her hair. They stayed like that for a few minutes until Beca's stomach grumbled.

"Oh my God baby. It must be around four in the afternoon, we skipped lunch." Chloe said worriedly and Beca chuckled. "Do not laugh. As your girlfriend I need to feed you, I know you love me, but you love food even more." Beca let out a full belly laugh at that and Chloe slapped her arm jokingly.

"Babe, honestly, I'd give up food for you." Beca said when she sobered and leaned in to kiss Chloe softly. "Thankfully that's not a choice I have to make, so we should probably eat." She continued while disentangling herself from Chloe and getting up while her girlfriend laughed at her antics. "Come on, we're gonna have a shower and then I'm treating you to all the ice cream you can eat. Then I'm cooking you dinner."

Chloe watched as Beca entered the bathroom and wasted no time in following her.

They ended up eating frozen yoghurt and then they went grocery shopping together. As Chloe had discovered some time ago, Beca is a surprisingly good chef, so she's leaving the dinner preparation to her, but she convinced her to let her help. She's loving this domestic side of their relationship, and she would gladly spend every night helping Beca cook dinner for the both of them and going grocery shopping together.

"You know." Beca said, pushing the shopping cart through the aisles and looking at the different kinds of cream. "I kinda love cooking and grocery shopping and all this, but I hadn't done it in years. I was just too lazy and it was like it took time away from my work, so I always ended up ordering in or just skipping meals. But you make me want to make you the best dinner in the world, or at least better than the fish and chips my idiot friend makes. So, like, thanks, for making me want to be better, and stuff." She finished staring intently at an article. Chloe beamed at her and threw her arm around the brunette's neck before kissing her cheek.

"You're welcome, babe, although I don't think you can get any better. And, you know, everything you cook tastes better than Luke's food to me. But you may want to drop all that food you have in the chart and cook me some fish and chips instead. I've always wanted to learn how to make it anyways, I'm sure yours will be a lot better." Beca turned to look at her and widened her eyes.

"We're not leaving anything, I'll cook all this tomorrow. But I'm going to take you to heaven today. I'm going to cook fish, and chips, and mashed peas, and gravy! Oh you're gonna love this." She rambled hurrying towards the fish aisle and Chloe laughed before following.

/

They spent three hours cooking dinner. Beca went all out. Chloe thought she had cooked all the sides ever cooked in Britain for fish and chips, but the result was truly amazing. So good that Chloe ate almost as much as Beca. When they were done they moved to the couch and Chloe laid herself on top of Beca while they watched TV.

"You know" Chloe started lazily. "If Luke learnt a little bit from you, there would be people coming from Britain just to get his food." She said sighing as Beca moved her hand to softly caress her full stomach. "You just took to a completely new level my favourite food." She said turning to face the brunette and placing a short kiss on her lips.

"Thanks babe, I'm glad you liked it so much." She said smiling and closing her eyes. "What I like the most was doing everything along with you." She mumbled getting into a food coma. "I wish we lived together to do this every day." She whispered this last part while drifting to sleep, but Chloe understood it perfectly because the brunette's mouth was right next to her ear, and she beamed thinking about a life living with the brunette.

She drifted into a deep and peaceful sleep in her girlfriend's arms, thinking of the great life they had together ahead of her.


	14. Chapter 14

The next four months passed in a blur for Beca and Chloe. The redhead wrapped up the shooting of the film and was now on post-production, but she had to go on tour to publicise the premiere of a movie she had filmed the year before.

The DJ finished recording Ed Sheeran's album and did the production work. It took her about two months to get it how she wanted, and when she was done, she had to take on a new project immediately, so she started working on Alt-J's new album. They had already written and decided on all the songs and Beca thought they were brilliant, so the whole process was really quick since they understood each other fairly well. All that was left for her to do now were the finishing touches.

While the couple had to be apart from each other every time Chloe had an interview outside California, they managed to spend a lot of time together. The brunette did most of the production from her studio at home, so when Chloe was in the city they would spend most of the day together at Beca's apartment. When the actress left, the brunette drove her to and from the airport, and they'd skype every night before going to sleep.

Things have slowed down now, since Chloe only has to attend some events in LA once or twice a week and Beca has plenty of time to finish the album, which gives them plenty of time to hang out and go on dates.

They were cuddling on Chloe's couch, watching Netflix after having dinner with Aubrey. Chloe was engrossed in the film and Beca couldn't help but stare at her in awe. When Chloe realised, she turned to look at her with a smile.

"You're a creep and you're missing the best part." Beca smiled and shook her head.

"I think I'm watching the best part." She said with a smirk.

"That was smooth." Chloe said before kissing her cheek. "Do you have to go to the studio tomorrow?"

"No, I don't. But I have to do… stuff, in the morning, or whatever."

"Beca Mitchell! What are you hiding?" Chloe frowned.

"Nothing! I just… it's a surprise, so, like… I don't want to tell you. But I will! I swear, tomorrow I'll show you." The brunette said hurriedly, making Chloe laugh.

"Don't worry baby, I was joking." She said pecking her lips. "So, when are you gonna give me that surprise?"

"Tomorrow at dinner? I haven't cooked for you in a while."

"Sounds good. You could cook me some waffles before you left in the morning too, if you wanted." Chloe said with a playful smile.

"Of course, babe" she laughed. "I was gonna do that anyway, you know that, right? There's no way I eat those fucking awful cereal of yours again."

"They're healthy, Bec." She said before yawning.

"Whatever. Let's go to bed, you're tired." Beca said getting up and pulling the redhead towards the bedroom.

/

Chloe went by the day as usual, but without texts from Beca, who hadn't been answering any of Chloe's texts and calls.

It wasn't until around four that the ringtone she had set for the brunette started blasting through her phone and she quickly picked it up.

"Finally!" she said as soon as the phone was on her ear. "You know, just because you told me you had things to do doesn't mean you can go radio-silent. I was getting worried."

"Sorry babe. Got wrapped up with this thing…" Beca said, sounding truly apologetic.

"Are you gonna tell me already what this secret is or not?"

"Nope. You'll see when you come by. When do you want to have dinner?"

"I don't care. I'm gonna go get changed and I'll be by in less than an hour so I can help you with dinner." Chloe said, already getting up from the couch.

"Okay, sounds good. See you in a bit."

/

Chloe knocked on Beca's door and heard a weird noise that she couldn't place. Then she heard Beca talking and when the door opened, a ball of fur was on top of her.

"Oh my god Chlo, I'm so sorry." Beca said before pulling the dog away from her. Chloe was beaming. Next to Beca there was a beautiful and very excited golden retriever. The brunette was looking at her expectantly while petting the dog's fur, waiting for a reaction. Chloe stood from the floor and started jumping and squealing.

"It's so pretty Beca! Is it a boy or a girl? Do you have a name yet? How did you get it? Oh my god Bec, I can't believe you didn't tell me!" She finished hitting playfully her chuckling girlfriend.

"Sorry, babe." She said going into the apartment and taking a sit on the couch, Chloe followed her and the dog sat by his owner's feet. "So, this handsome dude is Bowie. I picked him up today from the animal shelter. I didn't tell you because I suspected you'd love it if I got a dog, so I decided to surprise you. By the way, I was hoping you wanted to be his mom too. He needs two paternal figures." Beca said smiling the whole time and Chloe's face was starting to hurt from smiling. She firmly kissed Beca's lips and turned to pet Bowie.

"Bowie is such a cute name."

"Not cute, badass." Beca said crossing her arms.

"Sure, baby" Chloe said before turning her attention to the dog. "So, do you want me to be your mommy, Bowie?" The dog licked her cheek in response and she laughed. "Okay, I get it." She finally turned to Beca and wrapped herself around the brunette's body. "Now you have to tell me everything." She said pecking her cheek.

"Okay so, I went to the animal shelter to meet the dogs. I saw Bowie outside. He was alone, watching some other dogs play, and he looked so excited just watching, but wouldn't join. So I went to play with him, and he was so happy. They told me he only was like one year old. He was a birthday present to a kid who got tired of him after a few months, so he was left unattended for a long time, until they decided it was too much of a bother having him around the house and took him to the animal shelter. I kinda couldn't leave him, so I decided to adopt him. I did all the paperwork, bought all the stuff I needed, and brought him here." Beca finished with a soft smile, leaning down to pet Bowie again and Chloe did the same thing.

"I can't believe someone would get tired of him." The redhead said moving to the floor next to the dog. "Hey Bowie. You're gonna be so loved here, and you're going to have the best two mommies in the world. You're gonna love it here." She said with a smile in a baby voice and Bowie turned to happily lick her face.

"Woah, buddy, am I gonna have to be worried that you're kissing my girlfriend now?" The brunette joked joining them in the floor and the dog licked her face too. "Okay, I get it, you're a ladies man, that's okay." She laughed. "So, you like him, right?" The redhead nodded with a smile. "You know I don't want you to feel like I did this so you helped me take care of him. Which would be okay, if you wanted, but you don't have to do anything you don't feel like doing. I can take care of him on my own, I just really want you to be okay with spending time with him when you're here."

"I know Becs. But you know I love dogs. I want to take care of him, and walk him, and play with him. I'm gonna be this little guy's mommy." She finished hugging Bowie and Beca gave them a big smile.

"Awesome. That's actually awesome. I'm gonna finish cooking dinner now." She said placing a peck on the redhead's lips. "You can stay here with Bowie, everything's almost ready so just relax."

/

A few hours later, after a great dinner and playing all night with the dog, they were in bed in each other's arms. Chloe had her head on Beca's chest and the brunette was running her fingers through her girlfriend's hair. Bowie was snoring lightly next to their bed and the girls both felt at peace.

"You know," Beca started without stopping the motions of her hand, "I feel like I've been saying this an awful lot lately, but I'm really, really happy." Chloe sighed and nuzzled her face deeper into her girlfriend.

"I am too Becs." She relaxed her whole body into the brunette's warm embrace until suddenly she remembered something and her turned to look at her girlfriend. "I almost forgot. I'm gonna be having at least two months without work, starting in two weeks, and my parents want me to go visit them in Tampa."

"Oh. That's great babe. I'm gonna miss you though. How long will you be gone?" The brunette said slightly disappointed that her girlfriend was going to be absent, probably for a long amount of time.

"Well I was thinking for like a month…" The brunette looked properly disheartened at hearing this. "The thing is, my mom insists she doesn't want me there unless you come too. She says that after all these months hearing about you she refuses to go for much longer without meeting my girlfriend. So, do you think you could come with me too? I mean if a month is too long for you I'd understand, but maybe for a couple of weeks? Or whatever works for you."

"Really? I mean I could finish the album next week if I work hard, so I could be free to go with you whenever you want. And I don't have to take on any more projects unless I want to, so I could stay for as long as you want me there. Meeting your family sounds quite nice actually." She said with a soft smile.

"For real?" The redhead beamed. "I want you with me all the time, Becs." She said before kissing her on the lips. "Oh, I probably should have told you this before you accepted, but my dad said he wants to have a talk with you and my brothers are coming to visit when we're there too, so expect another talk with them." Beca paled at that.

"Okay, yeah, that's cool." She said, visibly nervous, and Chloe chuckled at her girlfriend's behaviour. "Do you… um… do you think they're going to be like… cool with me? Or whatever."

"Yes baby." The redhead said laughing. "I'm positive they are all going to love you. I'm a bit worried they may scare you away, but they are surely going to love you." She finished before cuddling impossibly closer to the brunette and giving several soft kisses on her neck.

"Okay. Yeah, it's probably gonna be fine. I'm nice enough, right?" The redhead only answered by planting more kisses on her girlfriend and wrapping an arm around her. "Do your parents know about me?" Chloe raised her head to give Beca a confused look. "I mean, about me being DJ BMitch?"

"Oh! No, of course not. I told them you were a musician but I didn't get into details. You can tell them if you want to, but it's not necessary if you don't feel comfortable with it." She said with a smile and Beca answered with one of her own.

"I think I wanna tell them. I mean I guess I should start trusting you family. I intend on staying with you for as long as you'll have me, which I hope is very long, so like, yeah. Um… yeah. I'm definitely gonna tell them, that's what I'm trying to say." The brunette nervously rambled and Chloe beamed at her.

"Don't be nervous baby, they'll be completely okay with this. Oh, my mom is gonna freak. Expect her fangirling when you tell her. The twins too. Oliver specially is obsessed with your music, always has been. But my mom, she's been trying to guess who you are for years." The redhead laughed and Beca looked adoringly at her.

"I'm looking forward to meeting them." She said before relaxing against the mattress and putting her arms around the redhead. They settled, tangling their bodies together and Beca was almost asleep when she remembered something important. "Oh my god. I'm such a bad owner." She said looking down at Chloe. "I'll have to bring Bowie with me. Is that possible? Like, will it be a problem for your parents?"

"Oh, no, don't worry Bec. They have a dog too. His name is Mario and he's a total cutie. He's gonna love having a friend to play with."

"Okay, that's cool then. He's gonna have to be on a cage for the whole flight across the country though, my poor thing…" She said turning to pet the dog.

"He'll be okay, I'm sure we'll be able to bribe someone to give him special treatment." She said sleepily. "Now sleep, we'll figure everything out in the morning."

"Yeah, okay. Good night babe, I love you." She said settling for the night before giving her a peck on the lips and resting her head on the pillow.

"I love you too" The redhead answered slipping her hand under Beca's shirt and resting it in her abdomen.


	15. Chapter 15

The week before their trip was hectic for the girls. Beca wasn't able to finish work the week before like she had hoped, so she spent 14 hours a day every day working in order to be done for the weekend. Chloe only had a couple of interviews that week, which meant that she was the one to organise both hers and Beca's stuff for the trip.

Beca finally got the okay from the band on Saturday morning and decided to go shopping with Chloe for the last stuff they needed. Everything was mostly set, but Chloe decided to wait for Beca to be available to get everything they needed for Bowie.

The brunette had grown incredibly attached to her dog and became really anxious when she thought about leaving the dog in a cold and dark room somewhere in the plane, with other strange pets and away from them. She wasn't one of those overprotective owners, but the poor thing had already been abandoned once, she didn't want him to feel like that again.

Chloe, being the amazing girlfriend she was, started investigating any alternatives and found an airline that would allow them to bring Bowie with them in the cabin. It was incredibly expensive, since they would basically be renting a private plane, but as soon as she told Beca about this possibility the brunette wouldn't have it any other way. The DJ convinced her girlfriend to let her pay for the plane, since she was the one who wanted Bowie with them to begin with.

So now they were buying some special leashes for safety, as well as snacks for the long trip and some more toys to spoil Bowie with.

When they got to Beca's home, where they kept all the stuff for their trip, they finished preparing everything before eating dinner and going for a long walk with the dog.

They spent Sunday morning relaxing in bed after a busy week. Chloe told Beca some more about her family, and Beca listened intently, noticing how the redhead's face lit up when she spoke about them. After lunch they met with Aubrey, Stacie, Benji, Emily and Luke to spend some time with them and say good bye.

The day passed by quickly and before they realised, it was Monday morning and they were at the plane, securing Bowie's leash on his seat. The dog was really excited, jumping around and licking Beca and Chloe's faces. Seeing him like this made both girls happy that they decided on the more expensive option and didn't leave him all alone in a dark room.

They had a calm flight and soon enough they were in Tampa International Airport. They got their bags directly from their plane's truck and headed to the pick-up area, where Chloe's parents were supposed to be waiting.

Beca was nervously glancing around, trying to guess which of these people were her in-laws, when she heard a high-pitched squeal coming out of her girlfriend before she launched herself towards a blonde woman and a redhaired man's open arms. The brunette glanced at Bowie, who was looking at her while wiggling his tail, and took a few seconds to ready herself before making her way to where the Beale's were.

Only it wasn't that easy.

When she tried to move with both hers and Chloe's carry-on bags, while pushing both their suitcases and keeping a hold on Bowie's leash, she somehow managed to trip and fall, taking the bags and suitcases with her. Before she could even process what happened, Bowie was on top of her, excitedly licking her face, probably thinking it was a game.

"Oh my god, Becs." She looked up to see her girlfriend watching her with an expression between amusement and worry. "Are you okay? What happened?" She said while pulling Bowie off of the DJ.

Beca was mortified. She had been trying desperately to make a good first impression on Chloe's parents and she does that the second they step on the airport.

"I'm good, I'm sorry." She said taking the hand the redhead had offered to help her up, all the while looking at the floor, not daring to make eye contact with any of the three Beales.

"Are you okay, honey?" She was suddenly swept into a tight hug by Chloe's mother and she didn't know how to respond.

"Ye-yeah. Sorry about that scene." She said pulling back from the embrace and extending her hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Miss Beale."

"Oh please, call me Catherine, or Cath, you're practically family now. It was high time we met." The older woman said before turning to look at Chloe. "You were right, she's a real cutie." She said smiling widely while the youngest Beale glared at her.

"Mom!" She whined while looking apologetically at Beca.

Now that the brunette could take a closer look at Chloe's mother she could see they were carbon copies, except for their hair colour and the eyes. The older woman's were dark green and had a different shape. She was thinking about this when she heard someone else clear their throat and she turned to look at the redhaired man, who had been silent this whole time.

"Mr. Beale, nice to meet you." She said extending her hand again, instead this time he took it with a stern look in his face and gave it a firm shake. Beca gulped at the intimidating stare.

"Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Mitchell." He answered coldly.

"Dad!" Chloe then said and the man broke into a grin and gave the brunette a bear hug.

"I was just joking. Call me Patrick, please." He said releasing her and she gave him a relieved smile and a nod. "Okay then, let me help you with all those bags. You can clearly carry them on your own without a problem, but I insist." He said giving her a wink.

Now, those eyes and the winking thing were so Chloe's. In fact, both her parents had something about them that screamed Chloe, and that made Beca feel at ease with them.

After both Catherine and Patrick said hello to Bowie too, they made their ways to the car, Beca silently listening to her girlfriend and her parents catching up while the others chatted animatedly and Bowie jumping around them, clearly excited to be around new people.

They made it to the Beale home at around noon. It was a big house with three floors and a big garden, and Beca found it incredibly warm. Warmer than any house she had ever lived in, and she felt a weird sense of security inside of it.

She was smiling while looking at some family pictures that were hanging around the walls when she felt a pair of arms wrapping around her waist and a kiss being pressed to her cheek. She turned around to smile at her beautiful girlfriend and wrapped her arms around her neck.

"Hey." The redhead said placing a soft kiss on her lips. "Bowie is outside playing with Mario." Both dogs had taken a liking for each other as soon as they met and they hurried off, running around the garden a few minutes into arriving to the house. "Wanna go get settled in my room before lunch? My dad's already taken our suitcases upstairs."

"Yeah, okay. Are they letting us sleep in the same bed?" She said surprised. "I figured they'd prefer if I slept somewhere else." The redhead laughed at that.

"Beca, baby, we're adults, they don't care. Of course you're sleeping with me." She said before giving her a kiss and taking her by the hand to lead her upstairs.

Beca was surprised when, instead of stopping at the first floor, she was led to the second floor.

"This is a really nice bedroom, Chlo."

"Thanks. It wasn't being used, so they let me decorate it and make it my bedroom when I was fourteen. The boys were too lazy to put the effort on it, so they were okay with me having it."

It was built like a loft, and it had a big bed, built-in wardrobes, a couch, a bean bag and a TV, as well as a door that Beca figured was a bathroom. The whole thing was huge and was decorated in a very Chloe-like way, with bright colours, pictures hanging on the walls and a few movie and music posters. Beca was looking around when her eyes stopped at a set of posters that caught her eye, and she couldn't help but snort a laugh. There, just above the bed, were five different posters that read _DJ BMITCH_ with her official logo. In fact, they were the only five designs she had approved of and allowed to be sold to her fans.

"I didn't know you were _such_ a big fan of mine, babe." She teased the redhead and she actress blushed, which made Beca laugh more.

"Don't laugh. When you told me who you were I told you, you have been my favourite artist since your first album, what did you expect?" The redhead said, getting over her initial embarrassment. "Oh, and there's more." She headed towards the big wardrobe and rummaged, before pulling out a simple, black oversized T-shirt with Beca's logo in white. The brunette's eyes darkened, thinking about her girlfriend wearing it. "You like?" The DJ was brought out of her train of thought by the redhead's voice and pulled those thoughts aside, saving them for later.

"I only allowed, like, twenty of those to be distributed. And they were expensive as fuck because I wanted to give the money for charity. Were you one of those weirdos who spent a hundred dollars in a simple black T-shirt with my logo on it?" the brunette said, honestly surprised.

She was okay with posters, but she found T-shirts with her logo to be too personal, and she refused to have anyone wearing a T-shirt with her artistic name on it. She felt like she would be deceiving them, since they didn't even know who she was.

"You shouldn't call your fans weirdos, and I definitely was one of them. And I wore it every time I could. I ended up leaving it here because I was afraid I'd wear it off if I had it with me in LA too. I don't think you understood how much of a fan I've always been, Bec." She said, leaving the T-shirt on her bed and making her way to her suitcase to start putting her clothes away.

"Wow. Now I feel kinda bad because I had never watched any of your films." She said, moving to her own suitcase, and the redhead laughed.

"I don't think you've ever watched a film, baby. And I have to admit, I found that quite appealing in the beginning, for some strange reason."

/

They finished getting everything set up in minutes and made their way downstairs to meet Chloe's parents for lunch. They insisted on taking them to eat to one of Chloe's favourite places and they drove there.

The place was a quiet diner with really good homemade food. Beca wanted to try everything on the menu, but she decided on a simple cheese burger with chips, since it was only lunch. Chloe ordered a Caesar salad and the older Beales shared a big chicken sandwich.

Lunch went smoothly, they didn't talk about any heavy or difficult topics for Beca. It was light conversation and Chloe was ecstatic that her parents seemed to love her girlfriend and that her father seemed to have forgotten about that talk he wanted to have with the brunette. That was until they were done eating and Patrick's expression became serious and he turned to look sternly at the brunette.

"Now, Beca, I know you seem nice enough, but I do have a few concerns that I want to discuss with you. We can do it now or back in the house. I don't care." Beca widened her eyes and gulped, preparing for the worst.

"Wherever you want, sir." Patrick stood up and went to pay the bill.

"Okay, so let's head home, it's more private and comfortable."

/

They were all seating in the living room. Patrick insisted on Chloe and Catherine being there too. Beca was shuffling awkwardly in her seat, nervous for what was to come. The older man finally broke the silence.

"Okay, so I trust my daughter's judgement, but need to make sure you're not taking advantage of her. She tends to be too kind most of the time." Beca nodded and Chloe rolled her eyes, taking the brunette's hand in hers. "Let's start with a classic. What are your intentions with my daughter?" Beca should have expected that question, but she didn't and she didn't know how to answer.

"Right so… um… my intentions are… none?" Patrick frowned at that. "I mean, I just… Okay, Chloe knows this, it took us longer than necessary to get together because I wasn't like… I didn't think I'd ever find someone. For years, a happy relationship and a marriage with kids and stuff was out of the question. But then I met your daughter, and she kinda showed me I could be happy, and she was willing to love me, and share her days with me, and it just… I guess it still is such a surprise and so unexpected that I haven't thought about my intentions with her, as in, for the future. But I can assure you that I'll spend the rest of my life making sure she's as happy as she can be, because even a fool can see that she deserves nothing less." Patrick looked honestly surprised at the honest answer and turned to look at her wife, who was beaming but equally as surprised as him.

"That... is better than the best answer I thought you could give me. Now, I think I know the answer to this, but I still need to ask, and Chloe, you can answer too. Are you treating my daughter with the respect she deserves?" Chloe just laughed at that and didn't even let the brunette answer.

"Oh dad, you really have no idea, but I guess you'll see while we're here. She treats me like I'm royalty. She's even too respectful. She's always asking how I am and how I feel about everything, so yeah, she treats me with all the respect a person can possibly show to another. Don't even answer, Bec." She finished planting a kiss to her nervous girlfriend's cheek.

"Okay, that's good then. Are you two having sex?" Beca choked on air and blushed more than she had ever blushed before.

"Dad! That's none of your business, oh my god. Another question like that and this interrogation is done." Both Patrick and Catherine were laughing by now.

"Sorry, sorry, it was meant to be a joke, but her reaction was so funny." He said pointing at Beca, who looked like she was about to have a stroke. When the brunette calmed down, everyone sobered and Patrick looked more serious than he had ever before. Even Chloe got worried. "Now, onto my main worry. I'm about to be really rude, but I want to take my point across." Beca nodded and looked equally as serious. "Chloe is famous and has money. I know you don't want fame, because I know you don't want to be on any media. But you apparently are a musician. You're clearly not a famous one, maybe a studio player, I don't know, but you probably don't make nearly as much money as Chloe. So, are you some sort of gold digger?" Beca was relieved that this was his biggest concern, since it could be easily appeased.

Now she had to tell them who she was. She didn't think she'd have to do it so early in her stay, but this felt like the right time, and it would probably be better this way. Her thoughts were interrupted by Chloe, who seemed to know what she was thinking.

"You don't need to tell them if you're not ready, baby."

"No. No, I'm ready, it's okay. Um, so… about the musician thing…" she was interrupted again by Chloe.

"Mom, when she says what she's about to say, please, don't freak out." As soon as she said it the Beales looked worried about what Beca was about to say and Patrick shot daggers at her, thinking the worst.

"Wow thanks Chlo, now they think I'm with the mob or something." Chloe giggled and apologised before scooting closer to the brunette and wrapping her arms around her, sensing this could be difficult for her girlfriend. "So, as I was saying… I am a musician, but I am actually sort of famous, I guess. I mean, not me. I don't like fame and I don't want it, you got that right. But like… my artistic name is kinda famous, I guess… I mean, some people know me, and listen to my music…" Chloe scoffed next to her and mumbled something like 'yeah, right, just some people'. "Okay, so I'm just gonna say it. But you need to know, you can't tell, please. It's not easy to keep my identity hidden, and I work really hard to do it. I hardly have any friends because of it so… like… please, I'm begging you to keep the secret." Beca asked seriously and both Beales nodded. "All right, so, I'm… like… do you know DJ BMitch? Cause…" She was once again interrupted by a squeal coming from Catherine, who was bouncing in her seat.

"Are you kidding? What? You have… how many? Fifteen Grammys?" Beca laughed.

"I only have twelve…"

" _Only_ twelve? Oh god. And you were worried she was a gold digger!" She hit her husband playfully in his arm, shaking her head at him, who looked kind of embarrassed about his previous question, but was smiling nonetheless. "Chloe! I can't believe you didn't tell me this! Oh god, Chloe! You've always been her biggest fan. How did you react? Did you jump her when she told you?"

"Mom, god, this is worse than I thought it would be, you're literally like a teenager. And no, I didn't jump her. I took it a lot better than you did. I did fangirl a little, but we were in a public space. Then I had time to take it in and it was okay." She wrapped her arms more tightly around the brunette and the DJ place a kiss on her cheek.

"Okay, so I can't see anything bad about you." Patrick finally said. "All that's left to say is thank you for making my daughter happy. It's been pretty clear to us that she's happier than she's ever been since you two started dating." He said before getting up. "Now I'm going to cook dinner, I'll leave you girls to it." When he left the room, Catherine turned to look excitedly at Beca.

"Okay, tell me everything. Who have you been working with? And when is any of your new work dropping out? Oh! You worked with Beyoncé, is she nice?"

"Calm down mom, we're going to be here for a month, you have time to ask her all this questions. Now I think Beca is dying to go make dinner with dad." She said turning to look at the brunette, who looked quite happy with that.

"I mean, if that's okay? It wouldn't bother him, right?" She said directing the question to both Catherine and Chloe.

"Oh of course not, honey. I'm sure Pat will love the help, go on, I'll catch up with Chlo." Catherine said with a smile. "Oh, and I'm sorry about all those questions, I got carried away for a moment there." She laughed.

"Don't worry, and Chloe's right. We have time to talk, I'm sure by the time we leave you won't want to hear anything else about my music." She said with a smile and left the room.

"I really like her. She looks so nice and down-to-Earth. I never would've guessed who she was." Cath said looking at her daughter.

"I know, that's one of the things I like the most about her. And she doesn't even think that what she does is that great, she says, literally, that she _just_ makes music. Like she wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. You'll see, she has the weirdest intake of life. But it's really nice being with someone like her. It really puts things into perspective." Cath nodded and smiled softly at her daughter's explanation.

"So, now that your father's not here, does she really treat you as well as it seems?" Chloe couldn't help but laugh.

"Of course she does, mom. I honestly don't think she could treat anybody badly even if she wanted to, but she takes it to a whole other level when it comes to me. She almost worships me. I feel overwhelmed sometimes, but in a good way. I've told you this before."

"Yeah, but now we know her, it feels different. She honestly looks too perfect."

"Yeah… She's almost perfect. The only bad thing about her is that she doesn't see just how perfect she is.

"Well, I'm sure you can help her with that. She seems happy enough with you." Catherine said with a soft smile.

"I think she is. And I really am too." Chloe smiled, looking in the kitchen's direction.

"We should probably go check on those two. You father insists on cooking every day, but he's a hazard in the kitchen. I'm surprised he's never set the house on fire." Chloe laughed at that.

"Don't worry, Beca's surprisingly good at cooking. I guess it comes with her love for eating. She might teach dad a couple of things. We should stay and catch up. We haven't talked that much lately."

The girls spent some time chatting about everything until Patrick came to call them for dinner. As the four of them were sitting at the table, engaging in light conversation, Chloe couldn't help but think about how nicely Beca fit in all aspects of her life. And she couldn't be happier about it.


	16. Chapter 16

The next couple of days in Tampa went great for the girls. They mostly hung around the house, playing with the dogs and chatting with Patrick and Catherine.

Beca felt happy. This experience had given her something that she had never had before. Benji and Stacie were her family, and now Luke and Emily too, but this was different. Now she could start to understand what it must have been like to grow up in a home like this one. How it probably felt like a safe place from all the bad things outside, instead of a living hell, like her home was. She was grateful for the opportunity to live like this, even if it was only for a month, but she didn't want to tell Chloe.

She was afraid that if she told the redhead, she would pity her for the sad life she used to have, and she didn't want that. She was over it, no need to dwell on it. She was also afraid that, if one day Chloe wanted to break up with her, she'd hold herself back just to keep the brunette in the family she needed so much. And it's not that Beca wanted Chloe to break up with her. But she loved the woman, she wanted her to be happy, and if the redhead wasn't happy with Beca anymore, she'd dump her herself just to make sure she'd find that happiness eventually.

The brunette was in deep thought in the living room watching TV with the Beale family when Chloe's voice brought her out of her head.

"Hey Baby, Brendan and Oliver are arriving tomorrow night. We have the whole day to spend together, would you like it if I showed you around?" The redhead suggested, knowing Beca would be nervous about meeting her brothers and would need a distraction.

"Yeah, sure, I'd love that. Will you show me the places where you used to hang out?"

"Of course. Although I usually went to Tampa with my friends, there isn't much to do in this village and it was a 15 minutes bus drive to the city. I'll show you anyways, and we can go to Tampa some other day."

The Beales lived in a quiet village just outside of Tampa. It was the perfect place to raise their children, not far from their workplaces in the city, with a school at walk distance from home and all the basic services, like supermarkets, coffee shops, restaurants, a park, a library and a few other little shops here and there. Beca thought she would have loved to grow up in a place like this and was happy her girlfriend got to do it.

"Yeah, cool." Beca smiled at her and pecked her lips.

"Okay, I'm going to bed, do you want to stay with them?" The redhead said teasingly, pointing at her parents, who were creepily staring at them from across the room.

"Nope, I'll go with you." She said standing up and taking Chloe's hand in hers. "Good night!" She waved while her girlfriend pulled her towards the stairs.

/

The next morning, they were having breakfast before going out and Chloe was staring at her phone while Beca concentrated in the food in front of her.

"Hey, Bec?" The redhead suddenly said.

"Yeah babe?" The brunette said with her mouth full and the redhead couldn't help but find adorable, which was weird, because she should have found it kind of gross.

"Would you like to meet my friend Samantha today? I haven't seen her in more than a year and I told her we'd meet while I was here. But it's okay if you don't want to, we can meet any other day." The brunette swallowed the food she had in her mouth and looked at her with wide eyes.

"Um... no, I'd like to meet her, so, like, that's okay. She sounds nice, from what you've told me... Is she going to like me?" Beca asked worriedly.

"Of course she is baby! She's never liked any of my boyfriends or girlfriends before, but it's you we're talking about. There's nothing not to like." She said taking Beca's hand and the brunette realxed a little at her girlfriend's confidence.

"All right then" She smiled, going back to her breakfast.

/

Two hours later, after a short walk around the park, both girls were entering hand in hand the coffee shop where they were supposed to be meeting Chloe's friend. Samantha hadn't arrived yet, so they sat next to each other on a booth. They ordered their coffee and got lost in their own world. They were talking, really close to each other, Chloe absentmindedly playing with Beca's hair while the brunette's hand stroked the redhead's leg, when they felt somebody sit in front of them and clear their throat. They rapidly turned their heads and before Beca had time to process who this person was, Chloe had jumped from her seat and was hugging the girl.

Beca smiled lovingly at the interaction, noticing how excited her girlfriend was, and noticed how she didn't feel jealous or insecure, like she most certainly would have been a couple of months ago.

Samantha was a tall woman with long legs. She had green eyes and very nice blonde hair. She was definitely attractive. And yet, Beca felt nothing but happiness that her girlfriend got reunited with her old friend.

When the redhead pulled back from the embrace, she returned to her seat next to Beca and linked their hands.

"Sammie, this is Beca, my girlfriend. Bec, that's Sammie, my best friend from high school." Chloe introduced the two with a big smile.

"Hey, nice to meet you. Chloe's told me a lot about you." Beca said, extending her hand towards the blonde with and awkward smile.

"Hi, Rebecca. Chloe hasn't really told me about you, I guess you just didn't come up." The blonde answered with a smile." Beca didn't know what to make of the comment, so she decided to take it as a joke and chuckled.

"Well, it's not like we talk a lot Sammie, that's why we're meeting to catch up. She's Beca, by the way, not Rebecca." The redhead said playfully and the blonde smiled at her.

"Sure, so, tell me about you two."

They talked for a while. Beca mostly listened to the girls talking, just happy to be there to look at her girlfriend while the other two talked happily about what was going on in their lives.

"Hey, I'm gonna run to the bathroom and get a refill. Do you girls want anything?" the brunette said getting up from her seat. Both girls nodded and Chloe gave her a smile and planted a kiss con her cheek before she left.

The redhead turned to look at her friend to see the blonde with a frown in her face, looking at her with a serious expression.

"What's wrong Sammie?" Chloe asked concerned.

"Do you really need to ask, Chlo? That girl is not for you, are you kidding? What are you even doing with her?"

"Excuse me?" The redhead said, getting angrier by the second. "What the fuck are you saying?"

"I'm saying that she's not for you and you should dump her and stop wasting your time." The blonde said firmly. "She looks too angsty and alternative, she has this looser vibe, I can't explain it, and she hasn't talked much, probably to hide that she's not very clever." Chloe was red from anger and ready to strangle the girl in front of her. "I know you Chlo, I know you feel the need to help the weirdos and misfits, but that's enough. Stop with the charity cases and find somebody worthy of you." She finished calmly and rested her back against the booth.

Chloe was about ready to rip the girl a new one when Beca came back, trying to balance the three coffees in her hands and handing a cup to each girl before planting a kiss on Chloe's cheek. When she took in Chloe's face she grew worried.

"Babe? What's wrong? Are you okay?" She said looking between the redhead and the other girl, who was looking at her with a smug expression.

"I think Chloe needs to tell you someth-" The blonde began to say, before being cut off by Chloe.

"I'm going to stop you right there." She said angrily before taking a deep breath and continuing. "First, I would like you not to speak to my girlfriend ever again. And after we're done with this conversation, don't speak to me either." She said glaring at Sammie to make clear how serious she was. "Now, I could tell you how wrong you are about absolutely everything you said after Beca left, but at this point, I don't fucking care." Beca widened her eyes at that. She had clearly missed something, because Chloe was angry, and she was cursing, and that wasn't a common occurrence. "What I will tell you, and I realised this just now, is that you were always a shitty friend and a shitty person. You always did all you could to make me and everybody else feel bad about themselves, even if you did it disguising it with worry and care, like you just did. I don't know who you think you are to talk that way about her, and to tell me what I should and shouldn't do. And, you know what? I know I said I wasn't going to tell you how wrong you are, but I'm going to, because this amazing human being that I get to call my girlfriend deserves the world to know how great she is." She was about to continue when she felt Beca put her hand on her arm, and relaxed a little bit.

"Babe? I don't know what she said, but you don't need to get in an argument with your friend just because of me." Chloe smiled softly at her.

"Yes I do, Bec. Give me a minute and we'll be out of here." Beca nodded and the redhead turned to look at the other girl, who was looking at her with a surprised expression. "Now, where was I. Well, I'll let you know that this woman right here is far from a loser. She's the most talented person I have ever met in my life. She's sweet and caring with the people she loves, and would give her life for them. But she's also tough, and brave, life made her that way, probably because there are too many people like you out there. And she's not a fucking charity case, _Sammie_ " She said her word with disdain. "I am not with her out of pity, or anything similar to that, I'm with her because there's nobody in this fucking world as good as she is. And I am with her because I got so, so, lucky that she wanted to be with me. You can't even begin to understand just how blessed I feel." The redhead finished, intending to leave the coffee shop at that exact moment, but the blonde decided to speak again, this time to Beca.

"What did you do to manipulate her? I know, she's easy." She said with that smug smile she was wearing before. "You might not be as stupid as I thought you were." Chloe went to tell her to go to hell, but Beca beat her.

"You know, I don't know you, and I don't know what you said to get Chloe this angry. But I've heard enough to know that I feel fucking sorry for you. Speak to Chloe, or about Chloe, ever again, and I'll make sure you regret it for the rest of your life." She said calmly.

Those words seemed to finally get to the blonde, who was speechless and with a fearful expression. She took Chloe's hand and led them out of the coffee shop. Once they were outside, she turned to the redhead and wrapped her arms tightly about her.

"I'm so sorry about that babe. I didn't want you to argue with your friend because of me. But I really didn't like how she talked about you. I don't want to talk about something I don't know, but you might be better off without her." She whispered softly in her ear, and the redhead tightened her arms around Beca, burying her face in her neck.

"No, you're right. She was never the nicest person. Back in high school she made fun of people just because, and she kind of was one of those mean girls. But she was always kind to me. And I thought she had changed after all these years, but I guess she hasn't. I'm sorry I put you through that." She said pulling away to look in her girlfriend's beautiful stormy blue eyes.

"Don't apologise, and thanks for standing up for me" She said stroking her cheek sofly.

"Anytime. Thank you too." She smiled. "So, wanna go for lunch? I know this great pizza place."

"Yes!" The brunette said enthusiastically. "Let's go!" She said pulling the redhead by the hand, who laughed at her girlfriend's antics.

"It's the other way, baby."

/

Chloe kept stealing glances at her girlfriend, who was happily eating her pizza while chatting animatedly.

"Hey, babe?" She said interrupting her rambling about a TV show she used to watch when she was a kid.

"Yeah? Something wrong?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to tell you how happy you make me and how amazing you are." She said, and Beca smiled adoringly at her. "And I'm so proud of you. I was sure you'd freak out and think that you aren't worthy of me, after what Samantha said, but you didn't, and that makes me so happy." She finished, taking Beca's hand in hers.

"I know. I was going to. But then I realised that we've spent so much time together in the last months, and you brought me to meet your family. So, as bad as I might seem to anyone, you love me, and I'm lucky, so I'm not going to give it a second thought. I'll believe you want to be with me until you say you don't." She said with a smile, that quickly morphed into a smirk. "Besides, we have a kid now. Separation would be messy, and Bowie loves his two mommies. Think about the kid, Chlo." Chloe laughed loudly at that and took Beca's face to plant a kiss on her lips.

"We've come so far, Bec. I don't ever want to go back to where I was before I met you." She said looking into her eyes.

"Neither do I, babe. You've made me so much better, and so, so much happier." She said softly and with so much honesty it made Chloe want to cry. "Now let me eat, woman, I'm starving."

"You've eaten almost a whole family size pizza, Beca!"

"Don't go hatin' on me, babe."

/

When they got back to the Beale residence it was almost dinner time, and Chloe's brothers should be there by now. The redhead had to spend some extra time calming Beca, who was really nervous about meeting Brendan and Oliver. After Chloe assured her it wouldn't be nearly as bad as it was with her dad, the brunette calmed down and felt ready to go in.

"Mom, Dad! We're home." Chloe yelled once they were inside, and not two seconds later, two sets of feet could be heard loudly running towards them. Suddenly, Chloe was taken away from Beca's side and two tall, and big men had her up in the air in a tight bear hug. Chloe was squealing in delight and the men were just laughing. Beca found herself smiling again, happy that Chloe was happy. When they finally pulled away, Chloe took them both by the hands and went to introduce them.

"Bec, these are my brothers. This one here is Oliver," She said pointing at the blonde one. He had a moustache and Chloe's eyes and was sporting a big smile. "He's the eldest, but the most childish by far." The other man snickered. He was a redhead too, with green eyes, but her smile was Chloe's, and Beca felt the need to smile with him too, much like it happened with his sister. "And this one's Brendan, he'll tease you to death if you let him, so just put him in his place." Chloe said and stopped to look at Beca with an adoringly smile that the brunette returned. "Guys, this is Beca, my girlfriend." She said without taking her eyes off of the brunette, and letting go of her brothers' hands to wrap her arms around the brunette, seemingly deciding that she'd spent long enough away from her.

"Nice to meet you both." Beca said awkwardly, giving them a weird wave, and the boys erupted in laughter before moving to hug her (and Chloe, who was still wrapped around the brunette.)

"Nice to meet you Beca. You're smaller than dad told us." Brendan teased.

"That's not a very nice way to introduce yourself, Bren." Chloe scowled.

"Ha! Our little sister is telling you off now!" Oliver said, pushing Brendan playfully out of the way. "You look nervous, little one, what's up?"

"I um... I'm not, like... I'm... chill, or, whatever. Not nervous. At all." The brunette mumbled, trying to appear collected and failing miserably. Chloe laughed at the adorableness that was her girlfriend and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"I told her you two wanted to have a talk with her and she's nervous about getting your approval." The redhead chimed in, tightening her embrace on the brunette protectively.

"Oh, well, that's not happening anymore. Mom and dad told us we weren't allowed to and that they more than approve." Brendan said with a smile. "I mean it's a bit disappointing, since I was looking forward to it, but I trust their judgement. They seemed really sure you were worthy of our little sister." He finished ruffling Chloe's hair.

"Yeah, mom said you two were totally getting married, and that she'll kick Chloe out of the family if she lets you get away. I don't know how you did it, but they are definitely impressed." Oliver added, oblivious to the fact that both girls were blushing furiously at his words.

"Oh, well, that's nice. So, um, thank you. Um... yeah." The three Beales laughed at the brunette's awkwardness.

"I really like her already! I'm gonna have so much fun with you." Brendan said before bopping her nose and Chloe slapped his hand away.

"Hands off! Come on, let's go have dinner." She said pulling Beca towards the dining room, followed by two giggling grown men.

Beca decided that she really like this whole family, and now, thanks to them, thoughts of marrying Chloe were plaguing her brain. And she didn't feel the slightest bit scared.


	17. Chapter 17

Oliver and Brendan were only staying in Tampa for a week before going back to work, so the girls decided to spend as much time as they could with them.

The eldest of the Beale children had a huge break down when Beca told them about her professional life, and he still hadn’t completely gotten over it, much to the amusement of the others.

Chloe was glad to be with her brothers after a long time not being able to. But Beca was having the time of her life. Benji and Stacie were her siblings, and she always considered Stacie’s parents to be her own. But this was different. Now she was living in a house with a real family, with no fears and no worries. And the Beales treated her like she was one of them. Catherine and Patrick talked to her like she was her very own, making sure she was always okay and comfortable, and Oliver and Brendan teased her like they teased Chloe, and always made sure to include her in everything and make her feel included.

Beca was happier than ever, and Chloe was too, just seeing her girlfriend with a constant smile instead of that worried frown she used to sport most of the time made her feel like she was in cloud nine.

They were now hanging out at the garden with Oliver and Brendan, playing card games and laughing while drinking some beers.

“Hey, guys.” Beca said standing up “I’m gonna go to the toilet, want something from inside?”

“Beer!” the boys said at the same time.

“Yup, four beers.” Chloe said finishing off what was left from Beca’s beer, which got her a playful glare from the brunette.

Once Beca was inside the house, Oliver turned to look at Chloe with an unusually serious expression.

“Okay, let’s get serious here Chlo.” He said and Chloe became a bit worried, being reminded of her conversation with Samantha. “Why aren’t you living with that girl yet? Hell, why haven’t you married her?”  Brendan nodded next to her and Chloe breathed relieved, chuckling lightly.

“Thank god, I thought you were going to say something bad about her.” She said and her brothers looked confused at her.

“Why would we be say bad things about that angel? Seriously, that girl doesn’t have a bad bone in her body. And she adores you. She worships you!” Brendan said.

“And she’s a fucking musical genius.” Oliver added, which got her a playful punch in the arm by her sister.

“Yeah, she’s all those things, and more. But Samantha didn’t seem to think so. She said some pretty bad things about Beca. I obviously told her to go to hell, but it wasn’t nice.”

“Are you kidding?” Brendan said, clearly offended by what he was hearing. “And why the hell would she speak badly of her?”

“She’s a hateful bitch. Always has been.” Oliver said sharply and Chloe nodded.

“Yup, basically that, no need for more explanations.” She said with a smile. “And about moving in together, I don’t think it’s going to take us long. I mean, I know I want to, and I think she does too. We’ve talked about it a couple of times, but never seriously. I’ll probably bring it up to her when we come back.” The boys nodded happily at the information. “About marriage, I don’t think that’s going to happen any time soon. I mean, eventually, hopefully, but definitely not now.”

“I don’t care when. But marry her. I want her in the family. And I want her with you” Oliver said firmly.

“She’s already my favourite sister, so you know which side I’m taking in the separation.” Brendan teased, which earned him a slap in the back of his neck from Chloe.

“There’s not going to be any separation if I can do something to avoid it.” Chloe said firmly and in that moment Beca came to the garden, carrying four beers, and handed one to each.

“Who’s separating?” She asked, before pressing a kiss to Chloe’s cheek and sitting next to her.

“Not you and me.” Chloe answered shortly and took a sip of her beer.

“Of course we’re not.” The brunette said, slightly confused, and the redhead simply smiled.

“What took you so long? These guys were being a nightmare.”

“No we weren’t.” They said at the same time, again, and Beca laughed at them.

“I was talking to your mom. What did they do?”

“They said _you_ were their favourite sister.” Beca laughed.

“I mean, Oliver seems to kinda like me, right?” She said, winking at Oliver, who blushed, still star struck and everybody laughed at his reaction. “Are you sure you were my biggest fan and not him?”

“Oh, you have no idea.” Brendan answered for her. “Ollie loves your music, but Chloe was straight up obsessed, completely nuts. I still can’t believe she manages to see you every day without crying from excitement.”

Then all three of them started to argue and Bowie came in that moment and sat in front of Beca.

“Hey, buddy.” Beca said hugging him and he licked her face before turning to Chloe, excitedly wiggling his tail.

“Hello, my sweet boy!” The redhead said in a baby voice, planting kisses in his head. “You look excited! Want to go for a walk with your mommies?” Bowie barked in agreement before skipping towards the exit of the garden and coming back again. Whenever he heard the word ‘walk’ he’d go crazily excited.

“Okay, let’s go then.” Beca said, standing up and offering her hand to help Chloe get up too. “Do you guys want to come too?” She asked the boys.

“No, we’re good. You two should spend some alone time with your kid.” Brendan said and Oliver nodded.

Beca secured the leash on Bowie and the two girls headed off, hand in hand, towards the park.

“So, what were you really talking about when I came out?” Beca asked curiously, absentmindedly rubbing circles on the back of Chloe’s hand. The redhead laughed at the question.

“Oh I was serious, they were telling me how I couldn’t let you get away, and how you’re now their favourite sister.” Beca chuckled lightly.

“So it’s safe to say your family likes me?”

“Baby, are you kidding? They adore you. What I’m worried about now is that _you_ get tired of that bunch of crazy people fussing over you all the time.”

“Cool. That’s cool. I mean, having them like me. You don’t need to worry about me getting tired. Your family is seriously awesome.” The brunette said with a soft smile, and the redhead looked at her, deep in thought.

“You’re really enjoying the family life, aren’t you? I mean, I don’t mean to be rude, at all, but you didn’t have any of this growing up, right?” The redhead said, careful not to say anything hurtful to her girlfriend, who just shrugged.

“Yeah... I mean, no, I didn’t have anything like this. The closest thing was when I lived with Stacie and her parents that time... Remind me to call Stacie’s mom, by the way, I haven’t talked to her in a while, she’s going to be so mad at me.” She knew she needed to call more often, but Susan Conrad knew her well, and she knew that the petite brunette tended to forget about things but meant nothing wrong by it. “But yeah, even then, I knew it wouldn’t last long... I don’t know, this is different. It’s always warm and chill in your home, it makes me feel kinda safe, and I never really had that. And I didn’t even grow up there, I can’t imagine how good it must be for you to be with your family. And that’s the best part, you know?” Chloe gave her a confused look and the brunette smiled, looking at her. “The best part is knowing that you grew up there, and that you have them, and always will, because you fucking deserve it. So it makes me really happy that you’ve always had those amazing people.” She finished with a big smile and Chloe’s heart melted.

“You know, Bec, you’re always going to have them too, from now on. They don’t love you because you’re my girlfriend, they love you because you’re you, and you’re one of the greatest people to ever walk this planet.” Beca rolled her eyes at that and Chloe continued. “And even if, god forbid, we don’t work out, which I’m telling you now, I’ll do everything in my power to prevent that from happening, I’d still want you to visit them, and I’m sure they would too.”

“Really? Because I was kinda nervous about this, I mean, about you holding back from dumping me because of your family. Or more like because I don’t have a family. That’s why I hadn’t told you about how great this whole experience is being for me. Because I love you, Chlo, and I don’t want to hold you back, I want you to be happy, with or without me. Although I’d prefer if it was with me...” She finished with a small smile, and the redhead let go of her hand to wrap her arms around her and plant a kiss to her cheek.

Bowie stopped walking and barked, happily wiggling his tail looking at the girls, who laughed and resumed walking after giving Bowie some attention.

“You know we’re solid, right Bec? And that I want, and fully expect, a future with you. And I know this might seem crazy to most people, because we haven’t been together for that long, but I know you feel this way too. I know we have something special.” Chloe said seriously.

“Yeah, I feel it to. And I don’t ever want to be with anyone else, or without you, for that matter. I can tell you that.” Beca answered, equally serious. “So, like, are you happy now?” Beca asked.

“Of course I’m happy baby, what kind of question is that?”

“I mean, with where we’re at, on our relationship?”

“Yeah, Bec, I seriously couldn’t be happier.” She answered happily, but Beca’s face dropped slightly.

“Oh. Okay. Cool. Yeah, that’s cool.”

“What is it, baby? I know you, you were going to say something. You know you can tell me anything, right?” Chloe said, noticing Beca’s strange demeanour.

“Yeah, um... I’m sorry... I was just... you know, it’s probably stupid, and too soon, and we totally don’t need to even talk about this if you don’t want to, but, like... I’ve been thinking... and, you know, I figured it would be cool if we, like, moved in together, or whatever. Cause I’ve really been liking living with you in here, and we practically live together in LA, and I love it when we spend the night at each other’s house, so... I don’t know, it’s whatever. I understand that you’re happy with where we are, I’ll wait for as long as you need me to.” The brunette rambled nervously, looking at her feet, so she didn’t see the ear-splitting beam adorning her girlfriend’s face.

“Bec, look at me.” The redhead said, moving softly Beca’s face so she was facing her. “I’d love to move in with you. I was actually talking about it with my brothers earlier, and I was going to bring it up when we came back, but this works too.” She laughed, and Beca’s face visibly lit up.

“Wait, seriously? So you want us to live together?” The redhead nodded. “Yes!” Beca exclaimed excitedly and Bowie turned his head to look at her, alarmed by her outburst, before turning to smell something in the ground. “I mean, okay, that’s cool.” She said, trying not to look that excited, but the beam on her face gave her away.  “So, we can do it however you want. I mean, we have time to decide, but I’m willing to do whatever, even go live at your flat, near Sergeant Posen.” Chloe laughed at that.

“We should really think about our options, before deciding anything, but it’s probably more sensible if I moved into your place. I mean, have you realised how many things you have in that music room of yours? You gave your instruments the master bedroom, and you don’t have more room for one more guitar. You have, like, twenty different tambourines...”

“They’re all different!” Beca protested and Chloe laughed.

“I know baby, I’m teasing you. But really, it’s too much work to move all that, and I don’t have room for that. So the only options would be me moving into yours or getting a new place. And I think we should wait a little to buy a house together. I only have about one month after we come back until I start shooting again, and that’s not nearly enough time to find a house, decorate it how we want it and then move in.” The redhead explained.

“Okay, that makes sense...” The brunette said, still taking all that information in. “Wait, so you’re saying you would move into my flat? For real?” She said excitedly and Chloe chuckled at her excitement.

“Of course, baby. Why wouldn’t I?”

“I honestly figured you wouldn’t want to leave Aubrey. I mean, I’d totally understand, the woman’s a freak, she works non-stop, you don’t get to see her that much... And let’s be honest, she’s a fucking lawyer, you must be the highlight of her day, I feel kinda bad taking you away from her...”

“Look at you, all worried for Bree’s well-being.” Chloe said with a soft smile and Beca rolled her eyes.

They arrived to the park and they let Bowie off of his leash to go run around while they sat under a tree to talk while they watched the dog.

“Seriously though” The redhead continued. “Aubrey’s not going to mind if I move in with you, she knows I’ll always make time to meet her.  And I think she’ll be happy for us. She’s actually quite fond of you, you know?”

“Seriously?” The brunette said surprised.

“Yeah, she knows you make me happy, and that you treat me really well, that’s good enough for her.”

“Seriously, what’s with everyone and me treating you well? It’s like they’re surprised that I’m a decent human being who cares for her girlfriend!” The brunette said slightly annoyed. Chloe laughed and positioned herself between Beca’s legs, wanting to be close to her.

“You go around with that badass aura, people probably thing you’re rude and insensitive, instead of the sweet, caring person that you are. Also, my family has always thought I’m too nice for my own good, so they’re a bit overprotective.”

“I’m only sweet and caring with you.”

“No you’re not.”

“Shut up. And about you being too nice, you are. But I’ll tell you, you’re no fool, babe. I’ll stand up for you when you need it without thinking it twice, but you’re perfectly capable of defending yourself.” Chloe looked at her with an expression of awe and adoration.

“Thank you so much for saying that, Bec.” She said sincerely. “That’s what I’ve been trying to explain to everyone my whole life.” She said before kissing Beca softly. “But we were talking about living arrangements, let’s get back to that.”

 “Okay. So, Aubrey would be okay with you moving to my place, but are you sure you are too?”

“Yeah, I am. I honestly just want to live with you, and that’s the fastest way. I could be all settled like, two days after we’re back, if that works for you.” The brunette nodded with a smile and the redhead continued. “Plus, I’ve always kinda loved your place. It’s a bit dark, and simple, but it’s so you.” She finished and the brunette gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“You know, it’s simple because I never much cared about decorating and shit. But I know you love that, so, like, if you want to, maybe we could go shopping and decorate it together? So it wouldn’t be my place, but ours?”

“Really?” The redhead said turning around and the brunette nodded. “I’d love that.” She said planting a sweet kiss to Beca’s lips. “I can’t wait to tell my brothers! They’re going to be thrilled. And we need to tell my parents! And Bree! And you need to call Stacie, Benji and Luke!” Chloe said excitedly and the DJ laughed.

“Nah, I’ll tell them when we get back. I’m going to tell Susan when I call her today though. She’s not gonna believe I’m actually managing to keep you. Oh! When I told her I was dating you she said she’s a huge fan of yours, has watched all your films. Wanna Skype with me tonight so you can meet her? She’d love it.”

“Really? Of course, I’d love to!” She said before getting up. “We should go now, Bowie’s just lying there in the sun, he can do that at home. While we’re at the bedroom.” She said wiggling her eyebrows and Beca rolled her eyes.

“Seriously Chlo? How many times have I told you that I’m not having sex with you with your family in the same house?” The redhead pouted.

“But-“

“No buts. We’re not having sex. Period.”

“Not with my family in the house.” The redhead said, slipping her arm around Beca’s waist and leaning to whisper in her ear. “But my parents go back to work tomorrow. And the twins are leaving in two days. We’re going to have plenty of alone time in that big house with so many bedrooms.” She said seductively before putting the leash on Bowie’s collar and starting to walk home, leaving a flustered and dazed Beca behind.

//

Beca stayed flustered all throughout dinner. She’d been dying to get into her girlfriend’s pants since the redhead posed for her wearing nothing but the T-shirt with her logo in it. She had to make serious efforts that night, but she was dead-set in not having sex with Chloe while her family was in the house. She was doing great with her in-laws, and she would be damned if she ruined it because she couldn’t keep her hormones at bay.

But now Chloe had planted the idea in her head. In two days, they’d be alone in the house, and as much as she didn’t want to say good bye to Oliver and Brendan, she really couldn’t wait to be with her girlfriend. So, that’s basically what she’s been doing since they got back from the park. Daydreaming about all the things she was going to do to Chloe.

The redhead was thoroughly amused. She knew perfectly well what Beca was thinking. It wasn’t hard to guess. Her face had gotten red in the park and was yet to go back to its normal colour, and the brunette was extremely quiet, only answering with monosyllables when asked any questions.

Patrick and Oliver both thought she was going through some artist thing, where she got inspiration and her head was lost in her amazing art. Catherine was extremely worried, thinking the poor Beca had caught something, even after being reassured time and time again that the DJ felt good and wasn’t sick.

But Brendan seemed to know exactly what was going on, if the devilish smiles he was giving Chloe were anything to go by, which went completely unnoticed by Beca, just like everything else that happened around her did. Even her food, probably for the first time in her life, and that was not something Chloe would allow.

“Baby.” The redhead said in a low voice, leaning into Beca so she was the only one who could hear her. “I know I played dirty earlier, but right now you’re getting your mind out of the gutter and eating that food in front of you, and then some more. I will _not_ allow you not to eat.” She finished, softly but firmly, and the brunette stared at her for a few seconds, probably still trying to break out of her daze, before nodding rapidly. “Good.” Chloe said with a smile and planted a kiss on her cheek before returning to her food.

“Are you sure Beca’s okay, Chlo?” Brendan said teasingly and Chloe glared at him.

“Yes, Bren, she’s okay, thanks for worrying.”

//

As soon as they were done with dinner, Chloe decided that Beca still wasn’t able to behave like a normal person and told everyone they were going up to her room to make some calls, which Beca was grateful for, knowing full well she was making a fool out of herself and admonishing herself for not being able to be a grown up.

Before they made it upstairs, they were stopped by Brendan, followed closely by Oliver, who looked a bit uncomfortable, no doubt because the redhead boy had finally filled him in on what kind of inspiration Beca was going through.

“Hey Beca! Are you feeling better now?” Beca blushed even more at Brendan’s comment.

“I uh... yeah... sorry I was a little checked out... I was... um... yeah, sorry about that.” The others laughed at the awkwardness that was Beca Mitchell and Chloe slipped an arm around her waist for support.

“That’s okay Beca, I know my sister. What did she do this time?” Brendan asked and Oliver nodded next to him.

“Um... what? She didn’t do anything. And what do you mean you know your sister?” She said confused. “Your sister’s an angel sent from heaven, and she’s never done anything wrong to anyone.” She finished crossing her arms. “And now I’m going to bed. See you tomorrow guys.” She said before planting a kiss on Chloe’s forehead and going up the stairs.

“Bye, Beca!” Oliver said enthusiastically and turned to look at her sister. “So, I don’t want you having sex, with anyone. But that girl deserves sex, so stop holding back, Chloe.” He said seriously and the two redheads laughed.

“Oh, dear Ollie... Do you not know our sister? She’d never hold back. And specially not from that hot piece of ass she calls her girlfriend.” That earned him a smack in the head from Oliver and a punch to the stomach from Chloe.

“Do _not_ speak about _my_ Beca like that. _Ever_. Or I’ll kill you, family or not.” The redhead said with a stern glare.

“Okay, okay, no need for violence. But seriously, we’re giving you some alone time tomorrow. Just call us if you want to hang out, eventually, and if not, we’ll be out of your faces. You’ve probably barely had time to spend alone, in bed, since you arrived.” Brendan explained.

“Oh, don’t do that. It’s Beca who’s holding back, in case you were still wondering.” She said looking at Ollie. “She says that she won’t have sex with me with my family in the house, and that she doesn’t want to ruin things with you if we got caught. She’d be mortified if you left the house so we could have sex, we wouldn’t even do anything and she wouldn’t be able to look you in the eye.” The actress explained. “Besides, we both want to spend time with you before you leave. We’ll have plenty of time after that.” She finished.

“Okay, if you’re sure...” Ollie said, absolutely uncomfortable now, after hearing the word sex leave her little sister’s mouth twice. “Good night Chlo. Tell Beca good night from me too. Do you think if I’m really nice to her she’ll let me hear that ALT-J album she said she produced? It’s not coming out for another two months, and I can’t wait.” Oliver wined and she laughed at the childish grown man that was her oldest brother.

“I doubt it, Ollie, but you should ask her tomorrow, maybe she will...” She said before smirking smugly. “She let me hear it, by the way, it’s fucking awesome.” She said before running upstairs, leaving both her brothers yelling questions at her.

When she got to her bedroom, Beca was laying in bed with her sleeping clothes already on, looking at something intently in her laptop.

“Whatcha doing, DJ?” Chloe asked, going to the wardrobe to get some clothes to get changed.

“I was about to Skype Susan. Do you still want to meet her?”

“Yes!” The redhead said clapping, hurrying to change her clothes, and dropped on the bed next to her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around her neck to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Do I look okay?” She asked, moving to fix her hair, but the brunette stopped her with a sweet kiss on the lips.

“You look fucking amazing, like you always do.” She said against her lips before pulling away and pressing the video call button.

It didn’t take five seconds for a woman who looked like an old Stacie to appear on the screen.

“Beca Mitchell. I haven’t heard from you in months. What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?” The woman said with a stern voice, but with a smile on her face.

“I’m sorry, I’ve missed you?” Beca said, knowing the older brunette was teasing her, but feeling bad either way.

“Sure you have. So, how’s everything been going? How’s that amazing girlfriend of yours?”

“Cool. Everything’s going really good. I have some news for you, actually. But first, I need you to introduce you to someone.” She said, moving the computer screen so Susan could see both Chloe and her, and Chloe moved to wrap her left arm around Beca.

“Hi miss Conrad! Beca’s told me so much about you. It’s so nice to finally meet you!” She said beaming,

“Oh my god. Chloe. Beale. I’m such a huge fan of yours! Because of your films and because you take care of Beca. That poor baby was so lost before you!” The woman answered excitedly.

“You know, you could’ve just said that it’s nice to meet her too.” The DJ grumbled and Chloe chuckled lightly next to her.

“It’s my pleasure, miss Conrad. She can be a bit difficult, but she is adorable most of the time.” Beca grumbled next to her, mumbling something like ‘not adorable, badass’, and feeling left out of the conversation.

“She really is. And call me Susan, please. So, what are you girls up to?”

“Oh we’re in Tampa. We came to visit my family since we’re both on a break from work.” The redhead answered, turning to look at her girlfriend, who was resting her chin on Chloe’s shoulder.

“Yup. Having a great time here, Susan, you’d love the Beales.” Beca smiled and the other woman’s face softened.

“You’re enjoying the family life, aren’t you?” Beca nodded. “I’m glad you finally have that, you really deserve it. I’m so sorry I couldn’t give it to you back then.” She said, with regret clearly lacing her voice.

“Hey, you did more than enough, believe me. I’m glad I get to live this now, but you should never feel bad about anything that happened back then.”

“All right, let’s talk about happier things, then. What were the news you wanted to tell me?”

“Oh yeah! But you can’t tell Stacie, we’re telling her when we come back.” Beca said, glad they were talking about a happier topic for her.

“No problem. What is it then?”

“I’m moving in with Beca!” The redhead said, bouncing in her seat, her excitement finally being too much to handle, after so many hours keeping it in.

“That’s so great girls! Are you both happy about that?”

“Well this firecracker here is, as you must have noticed.” Beca said chuckling. “And I’m incredibly happy, too. In fact, you’ll be glad to know that she makes me very, very happy.” She finished looking lovingly at Chloe, who was beaming.

“I’d caught that from our previous conversations, Beca. That redhead has had you wrapped around her finger even when you were being stubborn and refusing to date her.” The older brunette laughed.

“Oooh, did she talk about me before we started dating?” Chloe asked and Beca hoped silently that Susan wouldn’t tell the redhead about that.

“Oh, yes she did. She called me once, completely desperate, telling me she’d found her dream girl and that her dream girl liked her. But she was calling me to ask for advice to let you know that she didn’t want to date you, under any circumstances. I thought she’d completely lost it and told her just that. I had a chat with her and she finally got her head out of her ass.” Beca was mortified after Susan revealed that story.

“So it’s probably thanks to you that she finally agreed to date me?”

“Oh no, it’s not. It still took her a few days of stubbornness, and the merit is all yours. You somehow convinced her that she was being stupid and she needed to give you a chance.”

“Yeah... After we went on that date, I called Susan and told her that you had convinced me, finally, to give this a shot, and that the date had gone great. Susan cried a little on the phone and told me that she was sure, you were the one for me.” The little brunette explained with a soft smile on her face.

“Awwww. Thanks Susan!”

“You’re welcome honey. Me and Stacie have been on team Chloe from the beginning. I often called her just to gossip about you two.” Beca rolled her eyes at that.

“Typical of the Conrad girls.”

They talked a bit more about what was going on in their lives and then hung up and got ready to get in bed. They were drifting to sleep when Chloe spoke up.

“Susan seems awesome. I can see where Stace got that from.”

“Yeah... they’re both pretty awesome. I’m glad you liked her.” Beca said, stroking Chloe’s hair, and the redhead sighed contentedly.

“I like you more.” She said sleepily. “Good night, baby.”

“Good night, love.” Beca answered before pressing a kiss to her forehead and finally falling into a peaceful sleep.


	18. Chapter 18

The girls woke up early the following morning, and neither of them wanted to get up just yet, so they stayed in the warmth of Chloe’s childhood bed for a while. And that’s how they found themselves tangled in each other, in the middle of a slow and passionate make-out session.

Hands had travelled under clothes, and things were starting to get heated, so they didn’t hear steps coming up the stairs until they called their name.

“Chlo! Beca! Mom says tha-. Oh, shit. Sorry, I’m sorry!” Oliver said once he realised what he had walked in on, covering his face with his hands while Brendan laughed next to him.

“Ugh, I hate you guys. We’ll be down in 15 minutes.” Chloe said, clearly annoyed at the interruption, while a mortified Beca hid her face on the redhead’s neck.

“Morning Beca! How are you today?” Brendan said teasingly and the brunette only buried her face deeper into her girlfriend’s neck while she flipped him with her left hand. Chloe chuckled and wrapped her arms tightly around her adorable girlfriend.

“You know, Beca. You may be my musical idol, but that doesn’t mean I like what you were just doing with my baby sister. You need to respect her, dude.” Oliver said and Beca raised her head at that to look at him with wide eyes.

“I didn’t, I... I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to disrespect her. I would never. Oh god. You think I’m terrible, don’t you? It won’t happen again, I swear. I will cherish her like the gift she is and I will never, ever touch her again.”

“Oh yes you will, you can be sure of that.” Chloe interrupted and turned to look at her brothers. “Okay, you can leave now. And Oliver, you’re the oldest, please behave like an adult and stop tormenting my girlfriend.” She chastised her brother, who looked down.

“I’m just looking out for you...”

“And I’m thankful, but you don’t need to do that with this one.” She said pointing with her head at the girl in her arms. “Now leave. We’ll be down in a few minutes. Bye.”

When the brothers left, Beca buried her face in the pillow and groaned loudly.

“This was exactly what I was afraid of. Now they probably think I’m a fucking pervert who wants to take advantage of you.” The brunette whined, with a scared look on her face, and Chloe chuckled.

“Nobody thinks that, baby, we were just making out. Actually, nobody would think that even if they caught us having sex. Don’t listen to Ollie, he’s a big child. And Bren won’t let us hear the end of this. But they definitely don’t think you’re a pervert.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Now, about not touching me ever again...” The redhead said raising a brow.

“Yeah, okay, that was a hasty decision. But, like, if that would make your family like me, I probably could not touch you until marriage, or something...” The redhead laughed at that.

“I don’t think you could, Bec. And you’re definitely not going to do that. I don’t think you _want_ to do that.” She said that last part in a sultry voice, and Beca gulped, getting horny all over again.

“I, um... No, I do- I don’t want to do that.” She stuttered, and she felt the redhead’s hand play with the waistband of her shorts, and her own hand shot to stop its journey. “But we’re still not having sex with you family in the house. And they’re waiting for us downstairs!” The redhead pouted at those words. “Jesus, woman, don’t do that.” The brunette said with despair in her voice and got up. “I’m getting back at you for all this teasing and insistence, mark my words. Now get up and let’s go downstairs.”

//

The girls spent the rest of the day with the two boys, walking around the village with the dogs. Chloe teased Beca at every chance she got, wanting to make her cave and have her way with her. The brunette got inevitably flustered every time, which made her be even more set on getting back at her girlfriend once they got to be alone in the house.

Once lunch time came around, they left the dogs in the house with some food for them and went out to the diner.

They were sitting in one of the booths, food already ordered, and Beca was struggling to keep up a conversation with Brendan and Oliver, while Chloe stroked the inside of her thigh under the table, way too close to her core to be considered appropriate.

“So, Beca, do you think you could give me a preview on Alt-J’s new album?” Oliver asked, hopeful.

“I don-, um, I shouldn’t... I’m not supposed to-, oh, Jesus.” She breathed out, completely frustrated that Chloe was having that effect on her, and about ready to take her to the bathroom and give her what she wanted. But she wouldn’t cave, she was the most stubborn out of the two of them, so she took her hand to keep her still so she could give the expectant boy a normal answer. “I’m not supposed to do that, Ollie, I could get in serious trouble.” She finally said, and the blonde gave her a dejected look.

“Okay... I understand, I just thought I should ask, just in case.” He answered with a small smile.

“Um... you know what, I’ve trusted you guys enough to tell you who I am so... I could let you listen to a couple of songs in my computer. You can’t have the files and you can’t talk about it, under any circumstances, but, like, okay.”

“Really?” Oliver’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, and that made Beca feel assured in her decision, and gave him a nod and a smile.

“That’s seriously cool, Beca, thank you.” Brendan said before his face morphed into a smirk. “And now, onto more important matters. My sweet, innocent sister has been teasing you relentlessly for the past few days, and everything tells me you haven’t given her any action. So, are you made of stone or are you not attracted to her at all?” Beca blushed profusely and Chloe groaned.

“She’s so stubborn! I honestly can’t break her. I love you guys, and I love having you here, but I can’t wait until you leave so I can have my way with her.” The redhead said, with desperation lacing her voice. Beca’s blush intensified and Brendan laughed.

“I was so wrong, thinking Beca was the one who wanted to take advantage of you.” Oliver said shaking his head and crossing his arms mockingly. “And now I’m getting seriously worried you’d burst if we stayed here for three more days. Please tell me you weren’t this awfully horny when you were single. Because I don’t think I could take knowing you were sleeping around.”

“No, Ollie, I wasn’t this horny, and I’ve never slept around with randoms. This has everything to do with this, adorably sexy DJ who refuses to give me what I want.” The redhead answered with a smile before turning to look at the brunette, deciding to change tactics. “Do you not like me that way anymore, Bec?” She said giving her sad puppy eyes.

“Don’t even try that, it’s not gonna work, Chlo.” She said firmly before leaning in to whisper in her ear. “I’ll show you how much I like you _that_ way tomorrow, once you charming brothers leave.” And now it was Chloe’s turn to blush, making Beca feel incredibly proud of the effect she has on her girlfriend.

Just then the food arrived and they dropped the subject, moving into more appropriate topics.

//

Once they were done eating, they decided to spend the rest of the day hanging out in the house, so that Beca could play those songs for the boys, who were impatient to hear them.

The brunette insisted, once again, that they couldn’t talk about this to anyone, and that they could only comment the songs, if they were going to, in private spaces where nobody else could overhear them.

That made Chloe realise just how privileged she was. She didn’t even have to ask the brunette to play her any song. Beca just appeared in her house the day she wrapped everything up and set her computer to show her her work, just to know what she thought of it. That made her feel valued and trusted back then, but now she fully appreciated just how much.

Beca played for them the two songs she was more satisfied with, and the boys were in awe.

“So, did you like them?” She said, nervously biting her lip.

“Those are awesome, Beca, good job.” Brendan said happily.

“You really are a genius. Have you ever produced a bad song?” Olvier asked and the brunette chuckled.

“I honestly can’t take even half of the credit for this album. Those guys are pretty great musicians, I didn’t have to do much to make it sound good.”

“Bullshit.” Chloe blurted out. “Baby, you worked for weeks in the arrangements. I’m sure they were great, but those songs have your sound written all over them, and it seriously makes them better than anybody could make them.” She said, wanting her girlfriend to realise how good she really is.

“Thank you, babe.” Beca said with a loving smile and leaned in to press a brief kiss to Chloe’s lips. “Now, it’s this guys’ last dinner here, so what do you say I go out to get groceries and cook dinner for everyone?”

“Fish and chips?” The redhead said excitedly.

“You cook?” Brendan asked impressed.

“Yeah, I cook. I didn’t use to do it that much, but I’ve been cooking quite a lot for this one lately.” She said pointing at Chloe. “I’ll cook you fish and chips, babe. Is there anyone who doesn’t like that? I can cook something else for them.”

“Nope, we all love fish and chips here.” The redhead answered happily.

“Wait, wait. So you’re telling us that you can cook fish and chips? Like, decent fish and chips?” Oliver said surprised.

“More than decent fish and chips. She makes the best fish and chips I’ve ever tried.”

“Oh, Beca. You’re never getting rid of my sister.” Brendan laughed.

“I know... I’m not complaining, though.” She answered with a smile and got up from the couch. “I’m going for groceries now. You guys stay here and do whatever Beales do. Can you give your parents a call so they don’t get anything else for dinner?” Chloe nodded and Beca leaned down to kiss her forehead before leaving.

“I’m more and more impressed with that girl every day.” Brendan commented once Beca had left the house.

“I have to agree. I don’t believe in soulmates or anything like that, but Chlo, that girl is like your perfect match. If you designed your perfect partner, they wouldn’t be half as perfect for you as Beca is.”

“I know... Sometimes I can’t believe she’s even real. Believe me, I know how rare it is to find somebody like her. And you can be sure I won’t be letting her go.” The actress said seriously.

“That’s good. Because you’d be a fool if you did.” Oliver said. “I’m officially team Beca, now and forever. If you ever leave her, I won’t like any of you future partners.” Chloe laughed at that.

“I wouldn’t leave her. But if I ever lost her, I don’t think I’d be able to like anyone else anymore. Nobody would stand a chance compared to Beca.”

//

Beca was making what she hoped was the best meal she’d ever cooked. She refused to let any of the Beales near the kitchen to help, much to Catherine and Patrick’s dismay. She wanted to pay them back somehow for letting her be a part of their family, so she was giving this her all. She was making fish and chips with all the sides she could think of, like she had done for Chloe before, and she decided to also cook a cranberry pie for dessert.

She’d cook a lot more, but she didn’t want any food to go to waste if they couldn’t eat it, and this would be more than enough to feed six Becas, and none of the Beales ate as much as she did. So she guessed she’d have more chances to cook for them. Even if Brendan and Oliver weren’t there, at least she could treat Catherine and Patrick. And Chloe, obviously, but she was set on devoting the rest of her life to treat Chloe, so that went without saying.

Just as she was putting the food on a platter her girlfriend entered the kitchen and went to hug the brunette from behind before pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“This smells amazing, baby.” She complimented and took Beca’s face to turn it and press a kiss to her lips. “Can I do something?”

“Well, you can help me take the food to the dining room if you want.”

“Okay!” She said happily before taking one of the platters and going out of the kitchen. “Dinner’s ready!” She yelled as she disappeared into the dining room.

Beca took the rest of the food and went to join the Beale family, only to find Chloe gushing over her.

“-there’s no restaurant I’ve ever been to that serves better food than she does, you’ll see. Oh, and she almost never bakes, but I saw a pie in there! I can’t wait to try that.” The redhead said to her family, not noticing that Beca was right next to her, blushing at her compliments.

“Chloe please... now their expectations are too high and they’re gonna hate it...” She chastised and the actress turned to look at her with a radiant smile.

“Their expectations are accurate. Sit down already, I’m starving!” She said playfully, making everyone laugh, and the brunette took a seat next to her girlfriend, leaning in to kiss her cheek.

“Thanks for cooking dinner, Beca. We appreciate it, but I hope you know you really don’t have to cook.” Patrick said.

“I know, don’t worry, I just wanted to. I hope everyone likes this. It’s Chloe’s favourite so...” She trailed off shyly.

“Damn right it is.” She said helping herself to some food. “Now eat already, this cute little thing wants to know if you like it or not.” Beca looked at her and blushed. “You have something ready to be cooked in case somebody doesn’t like this, don’t you?” The redhead smiled knowingly and the DJ nodded sheepishly.

“I bought some beef to cook tomorrow and got it ready in case I needed to cook it today...” She said looking down and the redhead chuckled.

“Oh wow! This is really good, Beca!” Oliver said after taking a bite, not even listening to what the girls were saying.

“Chlo was right.” Patrick said nodding. “That girl has made us visit about every single place we came across that sold fish and chips. And this is, by far, the best I’ve tried.” He complimented and everybody else agreed.

Beca finally relaxed, now that she knew that none of the Beales were going to be hungry today, and she started her usual, massive ingestion of food.

Once they finished all the food (actually, Beca finished most of it, which surprised no one, being used to it by now), Beca got up to get dessert, in spite of everyone complaining that they were completely full.

Everybody ended up having dessert, and when they were finally done, Beca did the dishes, once again refusing to let anybody help her, and joined the family in the living room, taking a room in the loveseat Chloe was occupying and cuddling into her to watch TV.

They went to bed early, since Oliver and Brendan were leaving early the next morning and they wanted to say good bye, and fell into a peaceful sleep.

//

They woke up in time to see Brendan and Oliver off. It was sad seeing the boys leave, but they all promised to Skype often, which Beca was glad for. She had really taken a liking to the boys, and would miss them dearly.

Once they left, with Chloe’s parents, who were taking them to the airport before going to work, the girls went to the kitchen to have breakfast. Beca was making the mix for pancakes when Chloe slid behind her and whispered in her ear.

“We’re alone now.” She started, kissing her neck. “What do you say you leave that and we go straight to my bedroom.” Beca left what she was doing and turned to look at the redhead.

“Straight isn’t our thing, babe.” She chuckled before her voice went a few octaves lower. “Besides, you’re going to need a good breakfast to be prepared for what we’re going to do as soon as we finish here.” She finished, looking Chloe up and down with desire written all over her face, before going back to cooking breakfast.

 Chloe was speechless and flustered, so she just went to sit in the chicken aisle, looking at Beca while she cooked while undressing her with her eyes.

Once the food was ready, Chloe gobbled her breakfast down, wanting to be done as soon as possible, only to see that Beca was eating ridiculously slowly, while giving her a smug look.

“What’s up, babe? Do we need to be somewhere soon?”

“You know where we need to be.” The redhead grumbled, crossing her arms. Beca only laughed and kept eating at the same pace.

Once the brunette was done, she got up to do the dishes, but was stopped by Chloe, who grabbed her arm and pulled her towards her bedroom. Once they got there, the brunette got away from the redhead’s grip and crossed her arms, looking at her with a stern expression.

“I don’t think we’re going to hurry here, Chlo. I’ve been telling you, I’m going to get back at you, for all that fucking teasing you’ve put me through for the last few days. So I’m going to be in charge. And I’m going to take my time with you. Just so you learn how to be patient. Okay?” She said while pushing the redhead towards the bed until she was seated. The redhead just nodded, getting more turned on than she had ever been with this new side of Beca. “Really?” The brunette said, actually surprised. “I mean. Cool. It’s not like you had a choice.” She corrected, making the redhead laugh at her adorableness.

Beca pushed Chloe to sit against the headboard and straddled her before starting a slow, searing kiss. In just a few minutes of making out, Chloe was a whimpering mess, desperately trying to find some friction where she wanted it most. But Beca didn’t give it to her.

The brunette took off their shirts, and started a journey of kisses from her neck towards her abdomen, and going back up before returning to her lips.

Chloe was loving this, but she was getting more and more desperate every time. Sensing this. The brunette got rid of both her bras, throwing them somewhere in the floor, and moved Chloe so they were laying down in the bed.

Beca kissed the redhead’s neck again, getting to her breasts, and just when she was arriving to her nipples, she just stayed hovering over them, breathing heavily on them, making Chloe go crazy at the feeling.

“Oh my god. Baby, please.” She pleaded.

“Please what?” She said, looking up into those bright blue eyes that were clouded with desire.

The redhead was in no condition to answer with words, so she just pushed Beca’s head towards her left nipple. But the brunette turned her head in time, kissing the valley of her breasts instead, making the redhead groan in frustration.

“What’s up, babe? Are you not enjoying the teasing?”

“I’m so sorry for what it did baby, I promise I’ll never, ever do it again. But please. Fuck me before I lose my mind.”

Hearing Chloe plead and use the word ‘fuck’ did things to Beca, who moved her mouth towards Chloe’s right nipple while her hand travelled to her left. Chloe was so wet she could actually feel it. She was so excited it was becoming painful, but she was loving Beca being in charge, so she let her take her time.

Once the brunette thought she’d given enough attention to Chloe’s breasts, she finally stripped them both from their pants and underwear. Chloe’s core was glistening with her fluids, and she leaned down to taste the liquids, hardly applying any pressure, much to Chloe’s dismay.

“Please baby, please. I feel like I’m going to die if you don’t give me something.” She pleaded and Beca smiled at her.

“Teasing is actually a lot of fun.” She stated before capturing her lips in a soft, loving kiss. “You’re honestly too beautiful for words, Chlo.” She said, looking into her eyes before kissing her again. “I love you so, so much.” She said against her lips while her hand went to Chloe’s core to rub her clit, finally giving her some relief.

Chloe cried out in pleasure, wrapping her arms tightly around Beca’s neck. The brunette rubbed slow circles while she bit and sucked at her neck, but it wasn’t long before Chloe’s hips began rolling wildly, searching for more. The slow pace was driving her crazy, but she didn’t want to demand more, afraid that the DJ would remove her left hand from between her legs.

“Do you like this, babe?” Beca whispered seductively in her ear and the redhead nodded. “Would you like to have me inside of you?” She asked and the redhead nodded again, but more eagerly this time. “But I thought you liked teasing.” Beca answered with a smirk and the redhead could only give her a pleading look.

At that, Beca took some pity on her girlfriend and entered her slowly with two fingers. Chloe moaned loudly, feeling more pleasure than she had ever felt before. The brunette progressively picked up her pace, watching with fascination the look of pure pleasure in her girlfriend’s face.

When she felt Chloe tightening around her fingers, getting close to her climax, she removed her fingers and the redhead whimpered, about to cry.

“Don’t worry, babe. I’m going to take care of you.” She said, careful not to touch her where she wanted her most, before leaning in for a soft, loving kiss. “You’re not the only one horny here.” She said, not pulling away from the kiss. “Would you like it if we came together?”

“Oh, god.” Chloe’s eyes rolled to the back of her head, just thinking about that. “Yes, please, baby.”

Beca smiled lovingly at her, still taken aback by the beauty that was her girlfriend, and resumed the kiss, lowering her core to the redhead’s and grinding down on her.

The pace was slow, but neither of them tried to go faster, moaning into each other’s mouths. Soon, Beca could feel that Chloe was close, so she pulled away to look at her in the eyes.

“Bec, faster, please. I need to cum.” The redhead said between moans.

The brunette kept the slow pace in spite of her girlfriend’s pleadings for a few more minutes, before deciding that they had both endured enough torture and grinding faster, rubbing their cores tightly together. It didn’t take long for them both to reach climax together, never breaking eye contact. When they both came down, Beca moved to leave kisses all over the redhead’s face.

“You were so good, babe.” She said between kisses. “I think you deserve a reward”. She said, right before her left hand when in between the redhead’s legs again.

She entered her with three fingers, fucking her fast and hard, while she rubbed the redhead’s clit with her thumb.

Chloe just screamed in pleasure, her hips moving at their own accord. The brunette never relented her pace, and in a few minutes Chloe was coming, hard.

A stream of transparent liquid gushed out of the redhead, taking Beca by surprise, but the brunette read nothing but pleasure in the redhead’s face, so she helped her ride out of her orgasm, which was the longest she’d ever had.

When the actress finally came down, she dropped to her bed, her head hitting the pillow hard, not being able to move a single muscle in her body, trying to catch her breath. The brunette laid herself next to her, her hand lightly stroking the redhead’s abdomen. She was worried about her girlfriend’s physical state, not sure of what just happened.

“Babe? Are you okay? What did I do? Did I go too far? I’m so sorry Chlo. Did I hurt you? How do I fix it? Oh my god. Can you talk?” She rambled, her worry increasing by the moment.

“Shh” The redhead managed to say, trying to gather strength to talk. “You’re such an idiot, Bec.” She finally said with a chuckle.

“I know. I’m sorry. Are you feeling well? What do I do, Chlo? I’m freaking out here.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been better, baby. You just made me squirt, you stupid and sexy human being.” She said softly with a small smile and her eyes closed, reaching out to hug Beca.

“I... um... what? Seriously? I thought that was an urban legend or something.” Chloe laughed loudly at her naive girlfriend.

“Well, you just saw it’s not, baby. You’re a sex goddess and you just made me squirt. And now, I don’t think I’m going to be able to function for a few hours, so I’m going to nap.” She said, resting her head on the brunette’s bare chest. “Will you cuddle me?” She asked pleadingly.

“Of course I’ll cuddle you, love.” She said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you too, so, so much.” The redhead answered, drifting to sleep.

//

Beca ended up falling asleep too, and woke up an hour later. Upon seeing that Chloe was still sleeping peacefully, she carefully disentangled herself from the redhead and went to feed the dogs and take them for a short walk.

When she came back, Chloe was still sleeping, so she went to make some lunch and coffee before taking it up to the room and gently waking her up.

“Chlo.” She said, shaking her lightly and pressing a kiss on her forehead, right where her scar is. “Chlo, babe, you need to wake up and eat something.” She said gently and the redhead stirred.

“Hey baby.” She said looking up at her with a dazed smile. “Thanks for cooking.” She said trying to sit up with a huge effort.  “I don’t think I can move yet. But I feel so awesome.” She said leaning to peck Beca’s lips.

“Are you sure I didn’t hurt you? It looks like you’re feeling terrible because of... you know, what I did to you...” The brunette said in a concerned tone.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt this good. And _what you did to me_ was absolutely amazing.” She said and Beca put the food in front of her.

They ate quietly, and Beca stared at the redhead all the time, fascinated by the relaxation and content visible in her factions. Chloe was still dazed. She wasn’t expecting any of that, at all, but Beca was full of surprises, and she couldn’t be more glad.

They spent the rest of the day in the bedroom, watching TV and cuddling. When it got close to dinner time, Beca disentangled herself from the redhead to go cook dinner.

“I’m going to cook now. Maybe if I give your parents a great meal they won’t notice you’re basically vegetative.”

Chloe just watched her go with a lovesick smile and sighed before going back to watch TV.

//

“Thanks for dinner, Beca. This is a lovely stew.” Catherine said after taking the first bite of the food.

“Yeah, you’re actually very good at this. I’m glad to know that my little girl is going to be well fad.”

“Thank you.” Beca answered with a happy smile, pleased that the Beales liked everything she did for them.

“Are you okay, Chloe? You’ve been quiet since we got here.” Patrick said turning to her daughter, who was just eating while smiling at Beca.

“Uh-huh. I’m just... A bit tired. And distracted.” She said softly.

“Oh yeah? What did you girls do today?” Catherine asked, Beca went immediately red in the face, and Catherine quickly caught up. “You know what. Let’s talk about something else.”

“Why? I want to hear about their day. It sounds like they had a great time.” Beca was beyond mortified, not knowing how to get out of this.

“Oh, we did, Daddy.” Chloe said smiling. “But you don’t want to know about it. You know. Today was the first time Beca had the house to ourselves, and Bec finally let me have my way with her.” She said like it was the most innocent thing in the world, making both Beca and Patrick choke with their food and Catherine to laugh loudly at the other’s reactions.

“Oh my god. I can’t believe you just did that.” Beca said, covering her face, not daring to look at anyone.

“Don’t worry, Beca. We know you do things, you’re both adults.” Catherine assured her. “What I didn’t know was that you were holding back.”

“Yeah. As much as I don’t want to know about any of that, and that I would very much prefer if you didn’t do... _those things_ to my daughter, I have to congratulate you. It’s hard to say no to this one when she wants something.”

“I’m so sorry...” Beca said, not looking up at them, still convinced that they couldn’t possibly be so cool about this.

“Beca honey, please don’t be embarrassed.” The older woman said. “Besides, you’re doing a very good job, judging by my daughter’s face right now.” She said and Beca looked up in time to see Chloe enthusiastically nodding.

“This is so embarrassing.” Beca said not believing what was happening.

“I did tell you we didn’t have to hold back because of my parents.” Chloe said matter of factly. “Now enjoy this great meal you cooked. I know _I_ need it.” She said winking, her eyes never leaving her adorable, embarrassed brunette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there it is. I really did my best. I know it's not great, but hopefully good enough. Please let me know what you thought.  
> Sorry I didn't say this before, but many thanks to users JaJaKenedy and pipla02, who prompted that smut scene. Cheers!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks everyone for reading. I hope you enjoy this. Reviews are always welcome. Oh, and I still own nothing.

Two weeks into their trip to Tampa, they still hadn’t actually visited the city, and Beca wondered why.

They were having an amazing time. Now that Beca was more comfortable being intimate with her girlfriend, their sex life was more than healthy, and they were both a lot more relaxed.

They were hanging in the garden with Bowie and Mario, playing catch with them. When they decided to give the dogs a break from running, they sat down to enjoy a cold beer.

“Hey, Chlo?”

“Yes baby?” Chloe said, giving Beca whe whole attention.

“Why haven’t we been to Tampa yet? I mean, it’s not like I really mind. If you don’t want to go I understand. I was just wondering if there was a reason why you didn’t. You must have some friends there or something.”

“Oh. Well, I do still have a couple of friends in Tampa, but it’s not like we’re close. We talk from time to time, but we went our separate ways. I can see if they’re free if you want to meet them?” She said.

“Yeah. That would be nice. Samantha wasn’t a very good experience, I’d like to get to know some nicer people that were in your life.” She said with a smile. “But you haven’t really told me if there’s any reason why we haven’t been there yet.”

“Well, yeah. I suppose you noticed nobody stops me here or asks for autographs. Because they’ve known me my whole life, I’m just Chloe, they don’t care all that much. But I’m kind of a big deal in Tampa. They’re proud that a successful actress was born in their hometown, and they all want an autograph or a picture or just tell me how much they like my work. And I love them all, it’s great to have their support, but I didn’t want to expose you to that.” The redhead explained.

 “Oh... Okay...” The brunette said thoughtfully. “You know, I wouldn’t be opposed to all of that. In fact, I wanted to talk to you about something...”

“What is it?”

“Let’s go inside, okay? This is kinda serious.” She said and the redhead nodded.

They went to the living room and sat on the couch, with Chloe’s legs on Beca’s lap, her arms around her neck, one hand lightly stroking the brunette’s cheek, and the DJ wrapped her arms around the redhead’s waist.

“So, I’ve been thinking...” The brunette started, a bit nervous. “I know you made that press release asking the media not to publish pictures of me, and it’s totally fine if this isn’t a good idea but... I feel like I’m holding you back from sharing your life with your fans, even if you don’t feel that way. And I’m not okay with that.”

“I don’t feel held back by you, Bec, but what do you mean you’re not okay with that?” Chloe asked a bit confused.

“I mean... I wouldn’t be opposed to you publishing pictures with me in your social networks, if you ever feel like it, and I wouldn’t mind your fans seeing us together. I’m like... proud of being your girlfriend, or whatever.” Beca rolled her eyes at her own awkwardness. “I mean, you’re famous, and I’m dating you, so having thousands of people recognise me and wanting to know who I am comes in the package, an I really like that whole package.” She rambled. “So, well... look, you’ve changed me, I’m a better person now, thanks to you. And right now, that whole... being anonymous and a bit reclusive seems a bit... I don’t know, unnecessary? I couldn’t cope before, but now, with you next to me, I feel a bit better about it.”

“So... you want everybody to know you’re DJ BMitch?”

“Um... no. Not really. I mean I think I’ve made it worse now, by hiding it. It would create a big fuss and I don’t really want that, to be honest. But being Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale’s girlfriend, I think I could handle that. And you’re really good at hiding it, but I know we’re not doing some things you’d like to because you don’t want to expose me. And I don’t want that. I want us to be able to go out as much as we want without thinking about that.”

“Okay... but baby, don’t do this for me. I’m more than fine with how things are right now, really. And all this... could be traced back to your professional name, you know?”

“I’m doing this for me too, Chlo, you just give me the strength and the will to do this, but I think we’d both be a lot happier. And I know it could be traced back to DJ BMitch, but there will only be assumptions, there’s nothing official that can link the name Beca Mitchell to DJ BMitch. So I’ll just let them speculate and say nothing about that.” The brunette stated firmly.

“Are you sure about this, Bec? This is a big step.” The redhead asked, a bit worried about her girlfriend’s well-being when all this happened.

“Yeah, I’m more than sure. But I don’t know how to do this now.”

“Okay, let’s take baby steps, okay?” The brunette nodded. “Let’s go to Tampa tomorrow. I’ll introduce you as my girlfriend to anyone that may ask. If you still feel comfortable about all this, then I’ll publish a picture on Instagram of the two of us. Sounds good?” Chloe asked with a smile.

“Sounds perfect.” Beca said, leaning in to leave a short kiss to her lips. “Thanks for being so understanding and patient, babe. You’re the best girlfriend anyone could ask for, and I don’t say this enough, but I feel, so, so blessed to have you next to me. I love you, so fucking much.” She said, full of emotion, before wrapping her arms tightly around Chloe.

“I feel the same, love. And I’ll be with you every step of the way. I promise.”

They stayed like that for a few more minutes, until Beca pulled away a little from the embrace and looked at Chloe.

“Okay, so I need to run a few errands, will you be okay here for a few hours?” The DJ asked.

“I’ll come with you, there are some stuff I need too.” The redhead stated.

“Oh, um... the thing is... this is kind of a surprise for you... so I was hoping I could go alone...” Beca said sheepishly.

“Oh! Okay! That’s okay, I’ll stay here with our baby, that dog loves the attention and cuddles. Got that from me.” Chloe winked playfully and Beca laughed.

“He sure did. Okay, I’ll be going now before it gets too late. I’ll buy groceries for dinner too, let your parents know.” The brunette said getting up. “What did you need? I’ll the the stuff for you.”

“I need some earphones for working out. Mine broke a couple of days ago. But I can totally go some other day, or tomorrow while we’re in Tampa.”

“Nah, I’ll get them for you. Anything else?”

“Yup, toothpaste, please, I’m running low.”

“Alright, bye babe.” She said pecking her lips before she left.

The redhead went back to the garden to give some cuddles to the dogs, who stopped playing as soon as they saw her and went to lie by her side to get some cuddles, which she gave willingly.

Chloe was still processing what Beca just told her. She wasn’t expecting the brunette to make that decision, but she was glad she did. She could see that while being out of the public eyes had some benefits, the brunette stressed a lot over it. She could notice that it was eating her inside, even if the little DJ never mentioned anything. And what Beca strived, above everything, is being normal, and having to constantly hide some way or another made her unhappy.

And the redhead was set on making this transition feel as comfortable and easy as she could, because Beca deserved nothing less.

She was also a bit confused about this surprise Beca said was getting her. It’s not like the brunette never surprised her, she was the most thoughtful, attentive person she had ever met, but it was usually little things. Like stopping by her apartment with a cup of her favourite coffee on her way to work, or going out of her way to go to her favourite bakery shop and get her her favourite muffins at least twice a month. But the only time she actually banned her from tagging along because she was preparing a surprise was when she got Bowie. And she couldn’t possibly be getting another dog, so Chloe was clueless as to what Beca was doing.

About three hours later, the brunette was finally back, and Chloe literally threw herself at Beca, who had to drop the bags she was carrying to catch her.

“This is completely ridiculous, but I’ve missed you like crazy.” The redhead said against her neck. “What am I going to do when we get back to work?”

“Well, I could be your trophy wife and spend my life just going wherever you go.” The brunette joked.

“That actually sounds quite well... But I do like you being a hot music producer. It makes you even sexier. We’ll have to figure something else out” The redhead said finally pulling away. “What are you making for dinner?”

“Dunno, I bought some shrimp and pasta. I’ll figure something out. No one’s allergic to sea food, right?”

“Nope. That actually sounds quite good.” She said pressing a kiss to her cheek. “And are you going to tell me what that surprise is? I’m a bit impatient.” Chloe pouted and her girlfriend chuckled.

“Yeah. Just let me get the groceries to the kitchen.” She said and left with all the bags, only to come back seconds later. “Here are your earphones and toothpaste, by the way.” She said handing her a small bag. “Now, I initially didn’t want to make a big deal about this. But it’s a pretty fucking big deal to me, so, like this might be cheesy but I felt the need to do it.”

“What are you talking about, baby?” The redhead said, confused because the only bag the brunette brought with her was the one she already gave her.

“Okay. Here.” She said reaching into her back pocket and handing her a set of keys. One was metallic blue, the other one golden, and there was a small red one too. Chloe looked at Beca, searching for an explanation. “So, those are like, the keys to my house. The blue’s for the downstairs entrance, in case there’s nobody to open it for you, the golden one’s for the apartment, and that little one is for the mailbox. And I spent an indecent amount of time choosing them. Like, I know they’re keys, and you’re not supposed to like them, but I kinda wanted you to like them...” She explained and the redhead beamed at her. She really was something else.

“Thank you so much baby. I really love them.” She said moving to hug her tightly.

“I bought something else. It’s still in the car, let me go get it.” She said and ran out of the house towards the car. When she came back, she had a square object in her hands, wrapped in brown paper, and she handed it to the redhead, prompting her to open it. “I saw you looking at it the other day when we walked around the village. And I thought it would be perfect to start making my apartment... you know... _our_ apartment.” She said sheepishly.

Inside the wrapping was the gorgeous painting Chloe saw a couple of days ago. She had been mesmerised by it, and although she didn’t say anything, Beca must have noticed.

“I love this Bec.” She said, her voice thick with emotion. “I love you.”

“I love you too, babe. I’m glad you liked it.” She smiled. “Now, I’m going to get started with dinner. Wanna help?”

 “Yes!” She said enthusiastically, wanting to spend as much time as possible with Beca, which was weird, since they have been together almost the 24 hours of the day for the past couple of weeks. “Let me just take this stuff upstairs. I’ll be there in no time.” She said and skipped towards her bedroom.

//

When Catherine and Patrick Beale arrived a couple of hours later, they followed the giggles to the kitchen, where they found a redhead and a brunette covered in flour laughing hysterically with their arms wrapped around the other in a weird kind of hug. They both laughed to themselves and decided to mess with them. They put a serious expression on and Patrick cleared his throat.

“Excuse me.” He said to gain the attention of the oblivious girls. “What the hell did you do to my kitchen?” Beca turned to look at him with wide, scared eyes, while Chloe buried her head in the brunette’s shoulder, still trying to keep the giggles at bay. “There’s flour everywhere. You’re usually very neat, Beca, I’m very disappointed.”

“And what were you two doing? Chloe, you know we’re okay with you two having sex, but the common areas are completely off limits. Keep it in the bedroom.” She said shaking her head and at that, the redhead finally got a grip and turned to look at her with an expression similar to the one her girlfriend was sporting.

“I’m so, so sorry about the kitchen. Things got out of hand. But we were not.... you know.” Beca tried to explain blushing.

“Mom, dad, I’m sorry, this is my fault. Beca said she wanted chocolate chip cookies and I wanted to make them for her, but you know how I am in the kitchen... So yeah, this happened. But we were not going to have sex here, I swear.”

At that the older Beales broke into a grin and went to hug both girls.

“We were messing with you, honey, you should have seen your face.” Catherine said wrapping her arms around her daughter while her husband did the same with Beca. “And Beca, dear, I make some mean cookies, I’ll make you some later.”

“Oh, it’s not necessary, really. It was just a thought, like, my grandma used to make them when I was a little kid, and I remembered and kinda wanted some, but it’s not like... you don’t need to go through the trouble of cooking them for me.” Beca rambled, truly touched that Catherine would go through the trouble of making cookies just for her.

“Nonsense, I’m definitely baking cookies later. And Patrick always loves to help me, don’t you, Pat?”

“Yup!” He said finally releasing the brunette, who was being squished by the man. “So after dinner you girls go do something else while we cook, okay? Now. Did you manage to actually cook something or did you just make a mess?” He asked playfully and Beca quickly hurried to get the pot with the pasta in it and bring it to the table to get dinner started.

//

The following day the girls decided to get a ride to and from Tampa with Chloe’s parents, since they were going anyway. They were meeting for lunch two of Chloe’s old high school friends, who had found a job in Tampa. Chloe assured Beca that this time nothing could possibly go wrong and that they were both really nice people, and the brunette was a little calmer after that.

Chloe decided to show Beca as many nice things as she could before meeting her friends at 1PM, and having figured a long time ago that the little brunette had a thing for parks and nature, she started at Curtis Hixon Waterfront park, because that’s where se met with her friends in Tampa most of the time. Beca found the place really charming, and told her girlfriend that it was a really good spot to spend time in.

They were stopped in their walk around the park a couple of times by people who wanted Chloe’s autograph, or just tell her how great she was in her latest movies. The redhead was always polite and nice to everybody, and she proudly introduced Beca as her girlfriend to every one of them. Beca was awkward, but still her adorable self, and managed to be a part of every conversation she engaged in, leaving a really good impression on everyone. Or so Chloe thought.

“You were so great with everybody, baby.” Chloe gushed happily once they were back in the car that her parents let them borrow for the day. “How did you feel?”

“It felt good. Awesome, actually. I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed being in your position, and knowing those people were there for _me_. But it sure felt good to hear how awesome you are.” The brunette said with a dopey grin and Chloe laughed.

“You’re so adorable, Bec. So what do you think about posting a picture of us on Instagram?”

 “That’d be okay, I think. I mean, if I can handle face to face conversations with your fans I will sure be able to handle them knowing my face, right?”

“Right. But a lot more people are gonna see that picture, baby. People might stop you in LA to talk to you. You won’t be as anonymous as you were before. This little thing might change your life, baby.” Chloe said, wanting to make sure that the brunette knew what she was agreeing to. Beca sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

“I understand... So what about maybe posting a picture where I’m not all that recognisable? I mean, I’m ready for this, but I don’t want people to stop me without you around. So, like, it’s fine if I’m recognisable when you’re next to me. But I don’t think I’m ready to be recognised alone. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah. So we’re going to a really pretty place now. How about we take a picture there with you kissing my cheek? That way they won’t see your whole face.”

“Yes! That’s exactly what I meant. How did you understand me? I wasn’t even understanding myself.” Beca said and Chloe chuckled at her.

“A lot of practice, I guess.” She answered with a shrug.

Soon, they arrived to another park. And Chloe was hoping Beca would fall in love with this. And she wasn’t disappointed. She had driven them to Lettuce Lake Regional Park, and Beca loved every minute of it, whispering in amazement how beautiful and green it was every few minutes.

“Holy shit, Chlo. This place is fucking pretty. You were ri-... Is that an alligator!? Oh my god. It is! Can we get a closer look?” The brunette freaked out when she saw the reptile near the river, and pulled Chloe with her towards the animal.

“Calm down, Bec, you’ll scare it.” She chuckled and allowed the tiny DJ to pull her. “They’re well fed, so it’s not likely they’ll attack, but don’t get too close. They may feel endangered, okay?” The brunette just nodded, looking intently at the animal. “I didn’t know you liked reptiles.”

“Well, not specially. But I love all animals. And I had never seen one of those. It’s so pretty, Chlo. It looks like it’s smiling, while being all scary and shit. That’s one badass animal.” She explained not taking her eyes away from the alligator.

Chloe looked at Beca in amazement. She looked like a little kid, and suddenly she realised she probably never had the chance to visit zoos with her parents, with them being the way they were. So she came up with an idea.

“Hey, Bec?”

“Yes, babe?” She answered finally looking at the redhead with a small smile.

“Would you like to visit the zoo tomorrow? It’s a bit too late to go today if we want to see everything.” Beca’s eyes immediately lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Really? Can we go?” She asked excitedly and the redhead nodded. “Yes! I’ve always wanted to go. But I didn’t want to go alone. You’re the best babe.” She said before giving her a quick kiss on the lips. “Oh, but can it be the day after tomorrow? Bowie will be alone all day today, and I don’t think we can take him to the zoo either. I don’t want my buddy to be alone two days in a row and think that we... you know...”

Chloe’s heart fluttered at her cute girlfriend. She always made sure to spend enough time with Bowie to make sure he never felt abandoned. She remembers how sad he looked in the animal shelter, watching the other dogs play, and she never wants the dog to feel like that, ever again.

“Yeah, that’s okay.” She said pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I’ll book the tickets today when we get home, and we’ll spend the whole day tomorrow with our boy. Sounds good?”

“Sounds great. Thank you for this, babe.” Beca said with a lovesick smile.

“I’m more than happy to do this. Now, about that picture...”

“Can the alligator be in the picture too?” Beca asked excitedly and Chloe chuckled, turning to see the animal looking at them, but not making a move to get closer.

“Sure. Do you want to kiss my cheek or your new friend’s?”

“I think I prefer yours. We haven’t gotten there in our relationship.” The brunette answered and wrapped her arms around the redhead’s waist to press a kiss to her cheek. “Alright, that was rehearsal. I think we’re all good to go. But make sure the alligator is in it too. I want to remember her.”

“How do you know it’s a her?”

“She told me. Now take the damn picture.” She said attaching her lips to her girlfriend’s cheek and kissing it repeatedly, making Chloe laugh and resulting on a cute picture. Beca had her eyes closed, one hand cupping the side of the face she wasn’t kissing, and Chloe was looking really happy, laughing at her girlfriend’s antics. All while the alligator stared at them from behind.

They both loved the picture and Chloe proceeded to post her with the message ‘Spending the day in Tampa with the best person ever. And her new friend. #MeetMyGirlfriend #LettuceLakeRegionalPark #Tampa’.

It didn’t take long for messages to arrive with questions about the brunette, but she decided to ignore them for now.

“It’s getting late, wanna take a walk around the park before meeting Rick and Lucy?” The redhead asked.

“Sure, lead the way. Bye, mate!” She said waving to the alligator and followed her laughing girlfriend.

//

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Rick and Lucy were indeed very nice, and they seemed to genuinely like Beca. They didn’t try to pry into her life and didn’t assume that she was with Chloe for money and fame. And they even told the redhead that she’d found a keeper. So Beca was happy about that meeting. The four of them went for a walk after lunch and soon it was time for the girls to go pick the Beales up at their respective work places. They said their goodbyes and picked them up before heading towards the Beale residece.

As soon as they got there Beca hurried out of the car to say goodbye to Bowie, who seemed as excited as Beca to be reunited with his owner. It was really cute and Chloe soon joined them, doubling the excitement of the dog.

Beca offered to buy takeout for everyone, but the Beales refused to let her pay, since she’d been buying groceries almost since she got there. After ordering some pizzas Beca and Chloe went back outside to hang out with Bowie and Mario, and a few minutes later Catherine joined them with a plate full of cookies.

“Here, eat some cookies, Beca. You’re too thin and pale. You need to eat more.” Catherine said and Chloe rolled her eyes.

“You’re such a mother. You’ve seen her eat. Do you really think she needs to eat more?” She asked, looking at her oblivious girlfriend, who was happily chewing on a cookie, not listening to what the others were saying.

“Okay. You’re right. I was amazed the first time we had dinner together. How is she so thin though? And so pale? Is she sick? Chlo, you need to take care of this girl.”

“She’s not sick, mom, I did make her go to the doctor to do some blood tests a few months ago, and she’s as healthy as one can be. I guess she’s pale because she doesn’t go out much, since se works crazy hours. I don’t have a clue why she’s so thin, honestly.” The redhead explained.

“I go a lot to the bathroom.” Beca chimed in, surprising both women.

“I thought you weren’t listening.” Chloe said.

“I wasn’t. But I ran out of cookies. So I heard the last part.” She shrugged.

“You ate all of those in under 10 minutes?” Beca shrugged again at her girlfriend’s question.

“Great! I’ll bake you some more!” Catherine said before taking the plate and going back inside. Chloe rolled her eyes at that and Beca grinned.

“Your mom is awesome, babe.”

“She’s going to be baking cookies until we leave.”

“Really?” Beca said with a hopeful expression and Chloe nodded. “Awesome. Those are some of the best cookies I’ve ever tried.” She stated.

“Glad you like them. Hey, I have something to do now. Will you be okay here with the dogs?” She asked and the brunette nodded while petting Mario. “Okay. I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.” She said and pecked her lips before going inside. Once she was in the kitchen she put her hands in the counter and looked at her mom seriously.

“What’s up, honey?” Catherine said, looking in the cabinets for flour.

“I know I’m bad at cooking, but you’re gonna have to be patient and teach me how to make those cookies of yours. Because my woman loves them and I’ll be damned if I don’t learn how to make them for her.” She said firmly, with a decided expression, and Catherine beamed at her.

“That’s so cute, Chlo. Now come here, and listen carefully. I’ll write it down for you later.” She said and started telling her daughter what to do, letting her do most of the work.

//

When the cookies were already in the oven, the pizza finally arrived and Chloe went to call Beca. She found her gilfriend on the floor, laughing while Bowie licked her face and Mario sat on her chest. Chloe chuckled and came closer.

“How the hell did you get yourself in this situation?” She said looking down at Beca, while snapping a picture of the cute scene in front of her.

“I have no idea how this happened.” Beca said between giggles. “Now will you please help me get these two beasts away from me?”

“Beca! Don’t call them beasts! They’re going to hear you!” She said moving to cover Bowies ears with her hands before leaving a kiss on his head.

Bowie finally pulled away from the brunette and moved to say hello to his other mother, and Mario followed him.

“Thanks, babe.” She said getting up.

“Pizza is here. Go wash yourself, you’re full of dog drool.” Chloe said and pushed her girlfriend into the house by the shoulders.

“Wanna kiss this face?” Beca said wiggling her eyebrows.

“Ew. I would normally say yes, but this time, no thank you. Now hurry up, we’re skyping Aubrey after dinner. And then we’re calling Stace, Benji and Luke.”

“Are we?” Beca said raising an eyebrow. “You know I don’t usually update them all the time.”

“I do know. But you haven’t called them once since we got here, they’re your family, baby, and I know they love to hear from you, even if they don’t pressure you. I don’t want to tell you what to do, but I think you should call them more often.”

“Okay. You’re right. I need to be better in that aspect. Thanks, babe. I’ll be with you in a few minutes.” She said before disappearing into the bathroom.

//

When they finished eating they excused themselves and went to Chloe’s bedroom to skype Aubrey.

“I still haven’t told her that I’m moving in with you. I wanted us to do it together. Is it okay with you to do this now?” Chloe asked her girlfriend before pressing the call button.

“Yeah, better now than in person, in case she wants to murder me for taking you away.” Beca said jokingly and Chloe gave her a playful punch on the arm right before Aubrey picked up the call.

“Hi Chlo! And Beca. I really miss you. When are you coming back?” The blonde asked immediately.

“Hey Bree! We’re staying for another two weeks or so, I’m sure you’ll be able to cope.” The redhead answered with a smile.

“How are the Beales treating you, Beca? Chloe said they love you.”

“Yup. I nailed the whole meeting the in-laws thing. Obviously, it’s not like I had any doubt I would.”

“Yeah, right.” Chloe laughed. “She was so nervous, it was adorable. Dad loves her, and I think my mom is thinking about legally adopting her. Oh and Ollie wants us to get married, like, as soon as possible.”

“What?” Beca asked next to her. “I didn’t know that.”

“Oh yeah, he asked me why I hadn’t married you yet. I Think he wants to marry you himself, but, you know, that wouldn’t be nice of him. Or you. So us getting married is the next best think.”

“Like I would marry him! I’m very happy with the Beale I got.” Beca said slightly offended and Chloe chuckled and kissed her cheek.

“I see you’re still doing that whole forgetting you’re talking to someone else thing.” Aubrey said feigning offense, but she was smiling at the couple on the screen.

“Sorry Bree! So, we actually have some important news.” Chloe started.

“You’re not getting married just because that man child said so, are you?”

“No, Bree, don’t worry. We’re not getting married... yet.” Beca raised an eyebrow at that and smiled to herself, but decided not to say anything about it.

“Are you finally moving in with Beca? Because it’s seriously taking too long. You two already live together in two different appartments. Get that done, Beale. It’ll save you both some time. And you, Mitchell, ask her already, you’ve wanted to for months.” Aubrey stated firmly, leaving the girls completely flabbergasted.

“What? How did you know? And wait, you’re not mad that I’m taking Chloe away from you?” Beca said a bit confused.

“So you are moving in together. Finally! And no, I’m not mad, Beca. You two are clearly in love and are good for each other, I’m happy for the both of you.” She said with a smile.

“Thanks Bree! I knew you’d support me.” Chloe said elated that her best friend was taking the news so well.

“But I fully expect you two to meet me at least once a week. Specially you, Chlo.”

“ Of course we will. Thanks for the support, Aubrey.” Beca said with a smile.

“So, what else is new?” The blonde asked.

They caught up with Aubrey for about an hour before they hung up. When they did, they saw Stacie was online on Skype too, so they decided they’d video chat with her too.

“Wanna tell her about us moving in together too? Or would you rather wait and do it in person?” Chloe asked the brunette, that was hugging her from behind, resting her chin on her shoulder.

“Nah, let’s tell all of them now. Maybe they’ll even help us with your stuff.”

When Stacie picked up she was wearing a worried expression.

“Chlo? And Beca? Did something happen? Why are you calling?” She said worriedly and turned to yell behind her. Guys! Come here, Chloe and Beca are calling.” Suddenly Benji and Emily appeared on screen.

“Beca? Are you okay?” Benji said and Emily just fidgeted nervously next to him.

“Cool, you’re all together. That’ll make this whole thing faster. Nothing happened. Everybody’s okay here. Chloe is making me do this weird thing of checking in with my friends every once in a while.” Beca explained and the others laughed and visibly relaxed at that.

“Okay then. What have you been up to in there?” Stacie asked.

“Okay, let’s not get crazy here. I’ll tell you about that when we come back. We’re good, you’re apparently good too, right?” She said and when she got three nods she continued. “Awesome. So, Chloe’s moving in with me. I’ll call you so you help with her stuff. That cool? Great. See you soon!” Beca said in a hurry and went to hang up, but was stopped by her girlfriend.

“Bec, oh my god. That’s not what you’re supposed to do. Sorry guys, she’s a bit stunted.” She apologised before turning again to her girlfriend. “Now that you so bluntly told them the news, ask them again if they would like to help us with the move. Nicely. And then we’ll chat with them for a while. That’s how this works, baby.” She explained and Beca rolled her eyes.

“This is so weird. When we call Luke we’re doing it _my_ way.” She said before doing as she was told.

The three of them agreed to help them move Chloe’s stuff and said their goodbyes after talking for a while.

Beca had to admit she enjoyed that whole thing. She did miss her friends dearly. They’d always been there for her and she realised she hadn’t always treated them how they deserved. And for things like that she was glad for having Chloe.

When she called Luke, she put him on the speaker so Chloe could hear too, and decided to actually have a conversation like a normal human being instead of ‘doing it her way’. And her British friend was delighted.

Beca felt really happy that she decided to do it this way. She had always known she had a very special bond with Luke. He was like an older brother, or a father. He was always worried about her well-being and liked making sure everything was going well and whether he could do anything to help her.

But she never thought she could make the man so happy just with a phone call to catch up. Sure, Stacie, Benji and Emily were happy too. But it was different. They knew Beca could take care of herself. They’d seen her do it her whole life. So they weren’t worried when she didn’t call.

But Luke had met her as a scared, sad, little girl who had been hurt so much in the past that she wouldn’t let anyone in. And when she finally opened up to him and let him call her her friend, the blonde man had promised to himself that he would always make sure that she wasn’t hurt anymore by anyone.

Beca knew this, she understood her friend, so it made sense that he was happy just to hear how insanely happy she was. So she promised to call more often and he promised to help them with the move.

Chloe was deeply moved by their conversation and by the reaction Luke had when he realised that Beca was okay and just wanted to talk. He was also ecstatic that they were moving in together. And she was glad that this man, who cared greatly for her little DJ, thought she was good enough for her.

When they hung up, Beca turned to Chloe and pulled her into a tight hug, burying her face on her neck.

“Thanks for making me do this. That felt really good.” Beca whispered.

“You’re welcome baby. You really need to call Luke more often. That man really loves you.”

“Nah, he just wants me to teach him how to make good fish and chips. It’s just business.” She said jokingly and Chloe laughed.

“Clearly. Let’s go to sleep, it’s been a good day.” She said getting up from where she was seated.

“Sure. Let me just put on my sleeping clothes.”

“Don’t. You won’t be needing them.” The redhead winked and Beca beamed, laying them both down in bed while kissing her passionately.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope there are people still reading. I'm really sorry this took so long. I've been busy and then this chapter got out of hand and I wasn't really sure where to end it. So, yeah, to everyone still reading, so sorry about the delay.
> 
> As usual, I want to thank everyone who reads, and specially those of you who take the time to comment. Thank you all so much, I really appreciate the reviews, they do give me the will to write.
> 
> I hope you all like this. Please let me know what you think!

Beca woke up very early in the morning and immediately jumped on top of her girlfriend, straddling her hips and wiggling excitedly until Chloe’s eyes met hers.

“We’re going to the zoo!” Beca beamed as soon as they made eye-contact, infecting the redhead with her excitement too.

“We are. But the sun isn’t up yet, baby. We’re going to be walking around in the sun all day. We’ll need to be rested, so go back to sleep for a while.” The redhead said still sleepy but with a happy smile.

“You’re right. I’m sorry I woke you up. I was too excited. Go back to sleep, babe.” She said, jumping off of the redhead.

As soon as she heard Chloe’s even breathing, indicating that she fell asleep again, she jumped out of bed and went into the kitchen to cook breakfast so she could bring it to Chloe in bed when it was time for her to wake up.

Just as she was putting the cooked food in plates, Catherine and Patrick came into the kitchen.

“Beca! This smells so good!” Patrick said, kissing the top of her head before taking a seat in the kitchen aisle.

“Honey, how long have you been up? Are you not sleeping well?” Catherine asked with worry in her eyes as she took the cup of coffee Beca was offering her.

“No, I haven’t slept this well in years, hell, I don’t think I’ve ever slept as well as I do when I share a bed with Chloe.” She said and blushed. “That was not a dirty comment.” She rushed to clarify, making the other two laugh at her. “I was just excited for today. Chlo’s taking me to the zoo! And I wanted to bring her breakfast in bed. Which I’m gonna do now, before she wakes up and ruins my surprise.” She explained, putting the food and coffee for her girlfriend on a trail.

“She’s gonna love it. And she’s gonna love what you’ve planned for her tonight too.” Patrick winked between mouthfuls of bacon.

“I hope so...” Beca said biting her lip. “Okay, I’m gonna go now. We’ll be down in time to leave.”

“Beca Mitchell!” Catherine yelled just as she was about to leave the kitchen, making Beca freeze on the spot. “That can’t possibly be food for the both of you, so you better get back here and get some breakfast for yourself.” She said in an authoritative tone.

“I was going to eat later!”

“I know you two. You’ll want stay with Chloe while she eats and then you have to get ready. So you won’t have enough time later. You better do as you’re told. Or I won’t be taking you to the zoo!” She said crossing her arms.

That was enough to make Beca fill some more plates with enough food to feed her and rushing upstairs.

She was relieved to see that Chloe wasn’t awake yet, so she put the trail on a table and jumped her girlfriend, leaving kisses all over her face to wake her. Chloe stirred and looked up at Beca with a smile.

“Hey baby. That’s quite a good way to wake up.” She said, leaning in to give her a proper good morning kiss. “Mmm. It smells like amazing food. And coffee.” At that, Beca rushed to take the trail and put it over Chloe’s legs so she could eat, moving to seat next to her and reaching for a fork too.

“I brought you breakfast in bed. I made bacon and eggs, pancakes, waffles, French toasts and fruit salad. Because I didn’t know what you’d be in the mood for so...” Beca said happily, taking a bite off a waffle.

“Becs, when did you do all this?” The redhead asked confused until the realisation hit her. “You didn’t go back to sleep, did you?” Beca shook her head guiltily. “You’re gonna be tired later.”

“I won’t! I’m good. Just enjoy the fucking food I slaved over for you!” Chloe laughed loudly at that.

“I always enjoy your food, Bec.” She said before pecking her lips. “Thanks for this. Everything tastes amazing. As usual.”

“You’re welcome, babe. This is the least I can do. You’re taking me to the zoo, Chlo!” She said, bouncing in excitement again with a grin. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to visit one?” Chloe laughed at her child-like girlfriend.

It was a rare thing, seeing her guarded and usually broody girlfriend like this, but it made her heart melt and her stomach do backflips, knowing that it was _her_ who was making her happy.

“I’m just glad you’re this happy baby. I want to take you everywhere you want to go.” She stated and pressed her lips to the brunette’s. “But it would be great if you just told me the things you want to do. I could’ve taken you to at least three different zoos if I had known before. So, do tell, what else?”

“Well I also want to go to an aquarium, obviously. And I’ve never been to a Broadway play, that’s up there in the list too.” Beca listed. “Oh, and an amusement park!” She said, her eyes wide. “Would you go with me to one of those? I’ve never been to any either. That looks like a lot of fun.”

“It is. Of course we’ll go. It’s going to be awesome!” Chloe clapped excitedly. “And to the aquarium too. And I swear next time we have a few days off at the same time we’re going to New York and we’ll watch every Broadway play you want to.” She finished and kissed her lips again. “Nothing makes me happier than making your dreams come true, baby. I love you so much.” She said against her lips.

“You’re the best person ever. And I love you too, so much that sometimes I think my heart will explode.” She finished with a deep and passionate kiss. “Now eat or we’ll be too late to catch a ride with your parents.” She said turning back to her food. “Do you think they’ll have red pandas? And koalas? Oh, and kangaroos? And I’ve always wanted to see an ostrich!”

“I’m sure they’ll have some of those, but we can always visit more zoos if they don’t.” She said and Beca just grinned happily at her.

//

They finished their breakfast and got dressed quickly to leave with Chloe’s parents. Beca was bouncing in excitement the whole trip, asking questions animatedly. Catherine was enjoying it too much, the little brunette’s antics reminding her of the time when her own children were little. Chloe just sat back and watched Beca leaning on Catherine’s seat while talking excitedly.

“They’ll surely have lions and tigers, right? Those are, like, typical zoo animals. Oh, god. They’re okay, right? Like, all the animals there are being treated properly and stuff. I know they need to be in their own habitat and that zoos are kind of awful in a way. But this is not a bad zoo where the animals are all sad, is it? Because I’d love to travel the world to see all those animals, but, like, zoos are way more comfortable, and cheaper. But I really don’t want to see mistreated animals in zoos. Are they cool, Cath?”

“Yes, they are. I promise. We haven’t been there in years, but they probably haven’t changed their policies when it comes to the animals’ wellbeing. They used to be well fed and happy. And their care-takers were lovely people.” Catherine answered with a smile and Beca’s expression visibly relaxed.

“Cool. That’s cool. Oh, do they have monkeys? Like, many different types of monkeys?”

“Of course they do. Do you like monkeys?”

“I do! They’re really cool. Even the ones that aren’t actually cool. Like, chimpanzees aren’t very nice. They’re actually awful. But they’re still cool.”

“How do you know they’re awful?” Catherine asked interested in the little brunette’s knowledge.

“Oh, well, they kill each other and other races of apes if they’re given the slightest reason. They’re not exactly team players. Well, they’re not very good at containing their rage.” Beca rambled, staring off at the road while rubbing circles in Chloe’s hand, that she hadn’t let go of since before they left the house.

“They do sound awful. But how do you know those things, dear?”

“Oh, well, my parents didn’t take me to the zoo, but I did go to the library a lot. I’ve always liked to read, although I don’t do it that much since I got into music. But yeah, I loved to read about animals. That’s why I know a bunch of random facts.” Chloe was smiling widely at the happy brunette and moved to envelop her in a hug.

“Isn’t she the cutest, mom?” She said and kissed her softly on the cheek, making Beca smile, instead of frowning like she usually did when somebody called her cute.

“She really is.” Catherine nodded in agreement. “Do you think she’s too old to be legally adopted?” She said, only half joking.

“She probably is.” Patrick said from the driver’s seat. “But our other little girl, the redhead one, needs to marry her. Then she’ll be officially a part of the family.” Beca blushed at the comment and Chloe just rolled her eyes.

“Really, dad? The redhead one? That’s who I am now?” She said trying to keep her smile at bay.

“You will be until you marry that girl. So get to work!”

“Oh my god.” Beca muttered blushing profusely and Chloe just tightened her embrace.

“You’re freaking her out, dad. Don’t worry baby, I know we’re not ready for that.” She said to Beca, moving closer to whisper into her ear. “But we will.” Beca blushed even harder, but couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. Catherine smiled at the couple.

“Catherine! Do they have penguins? Or are they in aquariums?” Beca asked suddenly, looking away from Chloe, making everyone laugh.

“They usually keep penguins in aquariums, but there may be some in the zoo too. Do you know any facts about penguins?” The older woman asked, enjoying every minute of this child-like side of Beca.

“I do!” She said excitedly, and proceeded to tell them everything she remembered about them.

//

Fifteen minutes later, they dropped Beca and Chloe off at the zoo, wishing them a good day, and Beca immediately pulled Chloe by the hand towards the main doors.

Soon, they were in the zoo, heading to the first area. The zoo was fairly large, but the girls were determined to see all of it.

They started at the jungle area with the felines, Beca spilling random facts as they moved from animal to animal. They were both enjoying it, relieved to see that the animals seemed healthy and well fed.

Beca felt like the luckiest person in the world to have such an amazing girlfriend that would do anything in her hands to make her happy, promising herself that she’d do exactly the same for her.

And Chloe was in cloud nine. When she first met Beca she never would have thought that the broody, closed off brunette would ever be this way. And knowing that she had a lot to do with her girlfriend’s happiness felt like her biggest accomplishment of her life.

The DJ only let go of her hand to throw her arm around her or hug her, and every five minutes she made sure to ask the redhead if she was having a good time, of if she was thirsty or tired.

There weren’t many people in the zoo, since it was a week day, but just as Beca finished telling Chloe what she knew about zebras, a young couple with a little kid approached them.

“Hi girls!” The woman said, a tall brunette with kind brown eyes. “This might seem weird, but we’ve been doing the same route as you have, and we couldn’t help but listen to you two. And Shannon here” she said, pointing at the little girl in the man’s arms, “is really enjoying listening to all those animal facts that you keep giving.” Shannon shyly smiled at them.

The man was a tall, ginger man with green eyes, and the little girl had her dad’s hair colour and the same brown eyes her mom had.

“Hi, Shannon! So you’re enjoying your day?” Chloe asked, smiling warmly at the kid, who nodded in response. “Nice! This here, is my girlfriend Beca. And I’m Chloe. It’s really nice to meet you!”

“Hi... I’m Shannon, and this is my daddy Ian, and my mommy Sophie.” She said with a smile and the girls shook the other’s hands.

“It’s nice to meet you all. So, how old are you, Shannon?” Beca asked, her heart warming at the cute kid.

“I’m three and a half!”

“Wow! Three and a half! That’s big!” Beca said and the girl gave her a proud smile. “And would you like to join us for the rest of the day?” Shannon nodded rapidly, clearly overjoyed with the offer.

“That’s very kind of you, but please, don’t feel like you have to. We don’t want to be a bother.” Ian said.

“Oh don’t worry, it’s not a bother, right, Bec?” The brunette nodded and smiled at them. “You’re more than welcome to join us, if you want to.”

“Okay then, if you’re sure. Shannon has taken a liking to Beca really fast. She’s been asking to come talk to her for the last fifteen minutes.” Ian said, leaving his daughter in the floor, who quickly ran off to Beca’s side.

“And I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but we really love your films Chloe.” Sophie said.

“Oh, not at all! Thank you very much, it does mean a lot.” Chloe said, and Beca looked lovingly at her until she felt a pull on her sleeve and looked down to see Shannon looking at her with wide eyes.

“What’s up, buddy?” She said, crouching down to her level.

“Mommy said that rhinos come next. Do you know stuff about rhinos too?”

“I sure do! Let’s go, I’ll tell you all I know.” She said excitedly and took the little girl’s hand. “Are you ready to move? My buddy Shannon and I are looking forward to the rhinos!” Everyone laughed and nodded before moving forward.

After an hour, they had all become acquainted with each other. The girls had learnt that the family came from Ireland on holiday for a few days. They were both teachers, Sophie taught Maths and Ian taught Irish, which instantly peaked Beca’s interest. The brunette kept asking the man how to say things in Irish, and Chloe was surprised to learn that her girlfriend could already speak a little bit. When she asked about it the brunette just shrugged.

“I just came across a video of a guy speaking Irish one day. I though it sounded nice, so I taught myself a couple of things. I can’t really speak it or anything.”

They all enjoyed each other’s company, but Shannon especially. She hadn’t let go of Beca’s hand, and soon she’d taken Chloe’s too, appealed by the redhead’s warm personality.

When lunch time came around, they all stopped at one of the zoo’s diners.

“I’ll have the special cheeseburger, a hot dog, two slices of this garden pizza thing, and fries. And a beer, please.” The brunette said, feeling really hungry after walking around all morning.

“It’s really cute that she orders for the both of you.” Sophie gushed.

“Oh, she hasn’t. Prepare to be amazed. It’s always jaw-dropping the first time you see her eat.” Chloe chuckled. “I’ll have a chicken sandwich. And a beer too, please.”

“And we’ll have the family combo to eat. And two beers and a bottle of water to drink.” Ian said.

Once they had their food in front of them, Sophie and Ian were indeed surprised, while Chloe just reminded Beca not to get too full because she had to walk for a few hours later.

“You eat a lot!” Shannon giggled after having finished all her food and seeing that Beca was still eating.

“I do! It’s important to eat. But remember that we need to eat healthy food, not this stuff I’m eating. This is a special day, because I’m at the zoo!” Beca cheered that last part, turning to leave a kiss to Chloe’s cheek as a thank you for bringing her here.

“You two are so cute together.” Sophie gushed looking at them. “How long have you been dating, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Not at all! It’s been almost six months, but it sure feels like we’ve known each other for way longer.” Chloe answered.

“Yup. Best months of my life. Believe me when I tell you that Chloe’s the best thing that could ever happen to anyone.” Beca said with a cheeky grin and leaned in to whisper in Ian’s ear. “Between you and me, I’m going to marry the fuck out of her one day.” She said and went back to her food happily, leaving Ian laughing at her choice of words.

“So how did you meet?” The man said when he calmed down.

“Beca is a musician. She scored the music for a film I starred on and we met at a party we had when the production was complete. It turned out I’d been hanging out a lot with her best friends, but we had never met. She was a bit reclusive back then.” Chloe explained.

“My friends are annoying. Every time I went out with them they tried to set me up with someone. It wasn’t exactly pleasant. I believe Stacie, my best friend, had tried to set me up with Chloe before. I’m not sure. She used to say that she was friends a ‘smoking hot redhead actress’ that would make me fall in love. I never asked if that was Chloe, but it probably was.” Beca said with a shrug, leaving an open-mouthed Chloe.

“You never told me that!” She shrieked and hit her arm. “You didn’t want to go out with me?”

“I didn’t know it was you, woman! And I’m still not sure. And even if I knew who the hell she was talking about, I didn’t know you, did I?”

“I suppose not. But we’re asking Stacie if she was trying to set you up with me. And if she was, you’re in a lot of trouble, Bec. We could have met long before we did if you listened to your friends!”

“We met, we’re happy, everything turned out okay.” Beca said, circling Chloe’s waist and giving her a kiss on the cheek to placate her. And Chloe leaned into the embrace and smiled at the brunette.

“That’s adorable.” Sophie said and Ian nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, sure. Now, I’ve finished eating. If you’re all done here, would you like to go on with our visit?” Beca asked.

“Yes!” Shannon said excitedly, throwing her arms up.

“You’re so cool, buddy. Thank god you’re here.” Beca said with a smile. “Should we visit the insects display next?” She said getting up and grabbing Shannon’s little hand and leading her away, followed by the other three adults.

“Ew. Insects are nasty.” Shannon said and scrunched her face.

“What? They’re not! They’re really cool! Tell her, Chlo!” She said turning to her girlfriend and offering her other hand, which the redhead gladly took.

“I don’t know, Bec. They’re kinda nasty.”

“Only if you eat them! I’ll show you two how cool they are. Did you know that if it weren’t for bees we wouldn’t have flowers? Well, that’s a little drastic, but there would be very few flowers. And they make honey. Honey’s cool right?” She asked looking at Shannon, that was looking at her with wide eyes, taking in the information.

“I do like honey.” Shannon nodded thoughtfully. “Do you know how they do it, Beca?”

“I sure do! Let’s go, little one, I’ll tell you when we get there.” She said and led Shannon and Chloe inside the little building where they had the display, followed closely by the two parents that were watching their interaction with a smile on their faces.

//

By the time the zoo closed, at around 5 PM, they had managed to visit each and every one of the animals the zoo had, which was impressive, given they had an infant with little legs with them, and that Beca spent way more time than she should have looking and giggling at every primate, arguing that they were the cutest, funniest and smartest animals of all.

They were all very tired, except for Beca, who was apparently pumped. Shannon was snoozing on Ian’s shoulder and the others were more than ready to go home.

“It was really nice to meet you, girls. You really made our day. I’ve never seen Shannon so excited before. Thank you so much.” Sophia said and Ian nodded next to her.

“Don’t thank us, please, we had a great time with the three of you.” Chloe beamed.

“We sure did. I’m going to miss Shannon so much. I mean, I’m going to miss you two as well, but specially Shannon.” Beca said, softly smiling at the little kid, and wrapped an arm around Chloe’s waist, getting sad over the impending goodbye and needing the contact. “When were you leaving again?”

“We’re going back to Ireland tomorrow afternoon. It’s a pity we didn’t meet before. I know Shannon is going to miss you too.” Ian said, starting to wake her daughter up so she could say goodbye.

Chloe looked at Beca’s sad face and pressed a kiss to her cheek, trying to make her feel better. She was a lot like a kid sometimes, and this was probably the first time Beca had been able to spent time with a little kid since she was one, so it probably gave her back something her parents took away from her. And Chloe didn’t want her girlfriend to lose it again.

“So, I hope you don’t find this weird, and you can totes say no, but do you think we can have your phone number or you Skype name, so we can stay in touch?” The redhead found herself saying. “We might even visit Ireland, and it would be very nice to meet with you.” She finished and looked at Beca, who seemed to have perked up and was looking up adoringly at her.

“Of course you can! That would be great, actually, wouldn’t it, Shannon?” Sophie said looking at her daughter, who had just woken up and looked at her confused. “Would you like to talk with Beca and Chloe on the computer when we’re back in Ireland?” Shannon understood now and nodded enthusiastically.

“Will you call and tell me more stuff about animals, Beca?” Shannon asked, looking at the little brunette with wide eyes. Beca smiled and held out her arms, so Ian passed the child to her. Shannon hugged her tightly and nuzzled her face into her neck.

“Of course I will, buddy. I’ll tell you about anything you want to, okay?” Shannon nodded without looking up. “And I’m sure Chloe and I will have some time off work to visit you in Ireland soon.” Shannon did look up at that.

“Really?” She asked looking between the brunette and the redhead.

“Really. We can’t tell you when exactly, but I promise that we’ll be there in less than a year, is that okay?” Chloe asked.

“ _A year_? That’s a lot!” The kid whined, making the adults laugh.

“It’s not, you’ll see. We’ll call very often, and the time will fly.” Beca said and pressed a kiss to Shannon’s cheek. “We have to go now, buddy.” She said, and seeing the pout in the little girl’s face, and tears threatening to spill, she hurried to add. “But don’t be sad! We’ll be speaking very soon.” Shannon nodded and gave her a kiss on the cheek in return and turned to look at Chloe.

“Will you call too, Chloe?” She asked hopefully.

“Of course I will. I’m really gonna miss you too, but we’re going to be great friends forever. Would you like that?” Shannon nodded rapidly, making Chloe chuckle. “Alright, so it’s goodbye for now.” She gave Shannon a quick kiss on her forehead and, after the kid responded with a kiss on the cheek, she enveloped Beca and the kid still on her arms in a hug.

When they separated, they exchanged goodbyes with the parents too and, after Beca gave Shannon back to Ian and Chloe and Sophie exchanged numbers, they parted ways.

“You okay baby?” Chloe asked. They were walking away hand in hand.

“Yeah, I’m gonna miss her though. It’s so fucking weird that I got so attached to that little girl in such a short amount of time.”

“It’s not, Bec. Children have that power. I’m gonna miss her too. But I was serious, we’re definitely gonna visit her in Ireland. You love beer and Celtic music. I can’t believe you’ve never been before, but we’re gonna have a great time.” Chloe smiled.

“We sure are. Thank you so much, babe. For everything. I had a really great time today. And yeah, meeting Shannon was pretty great, but having you there with me, it made everything ten times better. And I’m fucking tired of being so fucking cheesy all the time lately, but you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I love you, and I’m so sure I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” She said, looking into Chloe’s eyes. She saw the redhead’s smile growing as she looked back at her. “What?”

“Shannon is so carrying the rings at our wedding.” The redhead beamed and Beca laughed.

“We’re not even engaged, babe.”

“I know. Just stating a fact for the future.” She said confidently. Suddenly she realised she hadn’t realised that they were walking away from the zoo. “Wait, Bec, where are we going? We should wait for my parents by the entrance.”

“Nope. I kinda have a surprise planned for you. Don’t get your hopes up, it’s not much, but, well, I wanted to do something nice for you, and I think you’ll like it so...” The producer rambled and Chloe stopped with a short kiss on the lips that made her smile. “Yeah, so, your parents are in on it. They’re heading straight for home, and I hired a driver to drive us around tonight and home later. That was weird, by the way, I had never hired a driver or anything of the sorts before. But yeah, it’s all taken care of, don’t worry about a thing tonight.”

“You didn’t have to do this, baby.” Chloe said, deeply touched by the fact that Beca went through so much trouble to plan something for her.

“I know. And you didn’t have to take me to the zoo, or, like, be so fucking awesome, but you are. And I want to do this, and a lot more, for you.” Beca smiled and tugged on Chloe’s hand to lead her towards where their driver was parked.

//

The driver parked the car in front of a small diner on the outskirts of the city. Chloe had never been there, but she knew Beca must have reason to bring her specifically there, so she turned to look questioningly at her girlfriend only to find her already looking intently at her.

“So, um... This really isn’t much, but we’re just grabbing dinner here, there’s more, I promise. I chose this place because the reviews on the internet said it has one of the best cooks in town and... well, the cook and her husband, the waiter, are kind of huge fans of yours. I invited them to join us for dinner. I thought you’d like it, like, I know how genuinely grateful you are for your fans, so, um... this way you’ll have the chance to actually get to know two of them. And only now am I thinking that it’s really not my place to put you in this position and that you’ll likely think I’m kind of a moron for making decisions for you. So, well, if you could tell me now... just please don’t dump me for this, please.” The brunette was rambling uncontrollably and by the time she finished she had a desperate and pleading look in her eyes.

“I wouldn’t dump you even if I hated it, Bec. But I don’t. I really love this. Thank you so much, baby. I’ve always wanted to do this, but I never got around to it, so seriously, thank you.” The redhead said softly and pecked her lips lovingly. She took a step towards the entrance, but suddenly stopped and turned to her girlfriend “Can I tell them you’re my girlfriend? Are you comfortable with that?”

“Of course you can, babe, you can do anything you want.” Beca smiled, relieved that her idea was, indeed, a good one.

“Awesome! Let’s go meet them then!” The redhead skipped towards the diner pulling Beca with her by the hand.

When they opened the door, the waiter suddenly stopped doing what he was doing to stare at them with wide eyes.

The place was small and there were only four other patrons, seated together on the table at the bottom of the diner.

“Helen! She’s here! I told you it wasn’t a prank?” The waiter called into the kitchen and in the blink of an eye there was a head sticking out of the small window of the kitchen.

“Chloe Beale! What are you doing standing there, Albert? Go show them to their table already!”

“Oh, don’t worry about us. We’ll find a table ourselves and look at the menu. Do you think you two will be able to join us? I’d really like to meet you.” Chloe said, already endeared by the couple. Before she knew it, Helen was next to them.

“Of course we can! Thank you so much for doing this.” She said and turned to look at the brunette. “And you must be the nice young woman we talked to on the phone, Beca, right?” Beca nodded smiling. “You’re so thin, dear! Thank god you came here. You’re clearly not eating enough.” Chloe laughed at that. People _always_ got that wrong.

“Oh, believe me, she eats enough. You’ll be amazed as soon as she orders her food.” The redhead said.

“We’ll see about that. You youngsters eat way too little and think that’s enough.”

“Please, Helen, leave the girls be. Please, take a seat. Take a look at the menu and we’ll join you two for dinner as soon as we’re done cooking.” Albert said and Helen went back to the kitchen.

Albert showed them to a table and went to bring the bill to the people in the other table, who had just finished. As soon as they were alone in the restaurant he closed up and went to see how the girls were doing.

“Have you decided what you want yet?”

“Everything sounds amazing. What do you recommend?” The actress asked, looking at the man.

“Well, Helen’s beef stew is my absolute favourite. The hamburger is really good too, and the spaghetti bolognaise too”

“Okay, I’ll have the beef stew then. What about you Bec?”

“All that, please. Everything sounds too good to pass up.” The brunette said and the man looked surprised.

“You mean you want the stew, hamburger and pasta?”

“Yes. If that’s okay. I mean, if it’s going to be a bother that’s okay. I’ll take whatever’s easier.” The brunette backpaddled, realising that her order might be too much work for Helen.

“Oh no, don’t worry, dear. No bother at all. Please, get comfortable, we’ll be here with the food in no time.” He said and went into the kitchen.

“Nobody ever believes me when I say you eat a lot.” The redhead said, turning to her girlfriend.

“Well, I have an amazing metabolism.” She shrugged.

“You sure do.” Chloe answered in a low voice, eyeing her up and down, making the producer blush.

Chloe leaned in and kissed her tenderly, which Beca gladly reciprocated, circling her waist with her arms to pull her closer. When they pulled away they kept their faces only inches away, with their arms still wrapped around each other.

“Thank you for doing this, Bec.” The redhead whispered.

“Don’t thank me, babe. It doesn’t feel like I’m doing enough.” She said and pressed a short kiss to her lips.

“Oh sorry girls! We didn’t mean to interrupt, but food’s ready.” They suddenly heard Helen’s voice and looked up to see the older couple looking sheepishly at them while carrying some plates.

“Sorry, we got caught up, you’re not interrupting us.” Chloe smiled, taking her arms off of Beca’s neck to sit properly at the table.

“Okay. We closed the diner so we could join you for tonight.” Helen said placing the plates on the table before she and Albert took a seat with them. “Let me just say, and I hope I’m not stepping over any boundaries, that you two are really cute together.” She said with a smile and Albert nodded next to her.

“Thank you, I think so too.” Chloe chuckled and turned to look at her girlfriend only to find her about to put the first bite of food into her mouth. “Bec! I know you’re hungry, but it’s rude to start before everyone is settled.” She said shaking her head, slightly amused by the brunette’s antics. “You really do have a problem with food.”

“Sorry.” The brunette smiled sheepishly. “Thank you, Helen. I believe it’s hard not to look cute when you have Chloe fucking Beale next to you, but I’ll take the compliment either way.” She said and turned to look lovingly at Chloe. “Thanks for the food too. Everything looks amazing.”

“You’re welcome, dear. I hope you have enough with that, if not, just say so and I’ll make you something else. Now, please, you can start eating whenever you want.” She said and took a bite of food herself.  “How long have you two been together then? I don’t think I’ve seen anything on the tabloids about you being on a relationship, Chloe.”

“We’ve been together for about... six months now. There was that one time that the tabloids kinda caught us, but Beca doesn’t really like being on the public eye, so we keep everything under wraps.” She explained and Beca nodded next to her, with her mouth full of food.

“This tastes even better than it looks, Helen.”

“I’m glad you like it.” She smiled.

They all enjoyed a nice conversation over dinner, and once Beca was finally done eating all her food, she excused herself to go to the bathroom, leaving the others alone.

“You know,” Albert started, which surprised the actress, since he had been mostly quiet all night, “that Beca girl, when I spoke with her on the phone I knew she thought really highly of you, but now, seeing her with you, I must say she worships you. Everyone wants to find someone who looks at them the way Beca looks at you. Don’t ever let her go.” He said with a serious face.

“Thanks, Albert. Everybody tells me to never let her go, and I never planned on it.” She smiled softly. “I realise how lucky I am to have her. She’s so special, and nobody has ever loved me the way she does. Don’t worry, I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life with anybody else.”

“That’s good enough for me. I thing you’re a really nice young lady. You deserve the best. And that woman is the best I can imagine.” Albert said satisfied.

//

They left the diner about one hour later after exchanging phone numbers and promising to stay in touch. The brunette led the redhead back to the car, that was waiting for them outside the diner. Once they were inside, Chloe turned to look at Beca.

“So where are we going now?” Chloe asked.

“Well, I planned two different things so you could decide what you feel like doing. We can go for a night of partying, or if you prefer, we can have a quiet and tranquil end of the night. So, what’s it gonna be?”

“I’m a bit tired, so quiet and tranquil sounds fantastic right now.”

“Your wish is my command.” Beca smiled and turned to speak to the driver. “You know where to go right?” The driver smiled at them and nodded before starting the car.

They were in the car for about 20 minutes, and Beca refused to reveal any information during the duration of the trip. When the car stopped, Chloe saw that they were quite far from the city, in a clearance of a forest where there was nobody else. They stepped off the car and after Beca told the driver something that the redhead couldn’t hear, she took a blanket and a basket from the trunk and the car left.

The brunette placed the blanket on the floor and sat down, motioning for Chloe to sit next to her. The actress wasted no time in cuddling close to her girlfriend and wrapping her arms around her waist, and Beca put her arm on her shoulder and with the other hand she took the basket and opened it.

“So, I didn’t get anything to eat because I figured we’d be full after dinner, but I have your favourite beer, champagne, juice, water, and even tequila and vodka, just in case you felt like it. So what do you want?”

“When did you get all this, Bec? We’ve been together basically every hour of every day since we arrived.”

“I may have gotten your dad get us all this yesterday when he went grocery shopping...” Beca said, blushing. “Not the point, though, what do you want?”

“You got my dad buy us booze?” The redhead said laughing.

“Yeah. It was really fucking embarrassing. Just... answer the damn question, woman.”

“Beer’s fine, baby. Thank you.” Chloe answered with a smile that quickly morphed into a teasing grin. “He asked you if you were planning on taking advantage of me when you asked him, didn’t he?”

“No, he actually told me to be careful if you drank, cause you may try to take advantage of me.” Beca fired back with a smirk and the redhead’s mouth flew open.

“He did not!” She said indignantly.

“Oh yeah he did.” Beca chuckled.

“Whatever. You’re not getting any tonight.” Chloe said, looking the other way and feigning indifference.

“What?” Beca asked, getting no answer back. “But we can cuddle, right?” She said, honestly alarmed.

Chloe found her reaction cute beyond belief and soon she broke into a smile and looked at her, her eyes full of love.

“Yes, baby, we can cuddle.” She planted a soft kiss on her lips and rested her head on the little brunette’s shoulder.

“Okay, cool. That’s cool.” Beca said, “Now just relax. I’m at your service tonight. We can do anything you want. And we’ll go home when you’re ready.”

“Lay down with me and hold me. I honestly can’t think of anything better.” The redhead said and Beca obeyed, immediately laying both of them down so they could look at the stars. “This is perfect, baby. Thank you for tonight. I had a really good time.”

“You deserve so much more, Chlo. You deserve the best the world has to give. And I’ll keep trying to give you just that. You’ll see.” The DJ answered placing a kiss to the top of her head.

The stayed a couple more hours like that, speaking softly and just being together, perfectly happy doing nothing at all as long as they were together.


End file.
